Radioisotopic heater units warm an interplanetary spacecraft
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Engineering Technology Div.
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
The Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe, which were successfully launched on October 15, 1997, constitute NASA`s last grand-scale interplanetary mission of this century. The mission, which consists of a four-year, close-up study of Saturn and its moons, begins in July 2004 with Cassini`s 60 orbits of Saturn and about 33 fly-bys of the large moon Titan. The Huygens probe will descend and land on Titan. Investigations will include Saturn`s atmosphere, its rings and its magnetosphere. The atmosphere and surface of Titan and other icy moons also will be characterized. Because of the great distance of Saturn from the sun, some of the instruments and equipment on both the orbiter and the probe require external heaters to maintain their temperature within normal operating ranges. These requirements are met by Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Units (LWRHUs) designed, fabricated and safety tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. An improved gas tungsten arc welding procedure lowered costs and decreased processing time for heat units for the Cassini spacecraft.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 616141
- Journal Information:
- Welding Journal, Journal Name: Welding Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 77; ISSN 0043-2296; ISSN WEJUA3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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