Robert Martinu <invalid@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> Another option is to use a bigger rocket, of course, if
>> available.
>
> That collides with the "within a decade"-statement as Cassini already
> used the biggest laucher available.
A quick trawl through wikipedia reveals that this is not entirely true,
although it was quite big. I found three launch systems with greater
payloads than Cassini's Titan IV, the Delta IV, the Proton, and the
Shuttle. Of these three, the Proton is barely any higher, and the Delta IV
has about 20% greater payload to LEO. I believe you could also increase
the payload further by the simple expedient of launching from a more
equatorial launch site (Cassinia was launched from Florida). Adapting the
launcher and the facilities in Guiana is probably non-trivial, but this
can be carried out in parallel with the probe development, and I would
hope would not take many years.
I have no real idea how much an equatorial launch would help or how much
the extra payload capacity would reduce the travel time, but it must make
some difference.
The question of just how massive this probe needs to be should also be
considered. Cassini was about 5600kg and it's possible that a lot of this
could be cut down, both by reducing capabilities and by using more
advanced miniaturization techniques. Certainly it doesn't need the 350kg
of atmospheric probe that Cassini carried, and I imagine a great deal of
other mass could be eliminated as well. All of this can be replaced with
more fuel to get it there even faster.
--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software
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