Re:ESA – Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer: Live Launch
by Sharlin on Thursday April 13, 2023 @08:45AM
(#35554531)
The Voyagers, besides their much lower mass, were flyby missions. They could afford to be fast because they didn’t need to slow down for orbit insertion.
NASA’s Europa Clipper, due to launch in Oct 2024 on a Falcon 9, will take 5.5 years to get to Jupiter. The Congress directed NASA to investigate the option to launch it on an SLS, should one be available (it won’t, and it would be ridiculously expensive) – it would have been able to send the probe on a direct ~1.5 year Hohmann transfer to Jupiter without gravity assists, but no other existing launch vehicle could do that.
NASA’s Europa Clipper, due to launch in Oct 2024 on a Falcon 9, will take 5.5 years to get to Jupiter. The Congress directed NASA to investigate the option to launch it on an SLS, should one be available (it won’t, and it would be ridiculously expensive) – it would have been able to send the probe on a direct ~1.5 year Hohmann transfer to Jupiter without gravity assists, but no other existing launch vehicle could do that.