The most significant part of run a ballistic capsule on the heat from radioactive decay is to verify the it ’s in reality decaying before you send it to space . All four of Cassini ’s radioisotope thermoelectric generator underwent examination before the spacecraft was launched in 1997 .
Environmental Health Specialist Jamie A. Keeley used an ion chamber loony toons pace meter to check the radiation grade of a radioisotope thermoelectric author ( RTG ) . The generators function by harnessing the warmth of natural decay of plutonium to generate galvanic power , keep the spacecraft function for years despite being so far away from the sun that solar top executive is n’t hardheaded .
The Cassini spacecraft was powered by threeRTGs , with a 4th onboard for backup to generate an output of 292 watts of electrical energy at the start of the delegation . A total of 18general - determination heat energy sources(GPHS ) modules were stacked together to provide the heat origin , each with a heat shield and impact case to protect it . The plutonium dioxide fuel was combine into a ceramic to reduce the risk of vaporize or other smutty reactions . The fuel was eventually encased in multiple layers of atomic number 77 and eminent - posture plumbago blocks to prevent accidental vent .
The Cassini / Huygens mission launched from Cape Canaveral in October 1997 , err into orbit around Saturn in July 2004 . Over a decade later it ’s still in orbit , although the mission will soon be wrap up with a serial publication offinal aim flybysbefore diving into the gas heavyweight in the autumn of 2017 .
The next propagation of RTG technology ispowering the New Horizons probeas it explore spacebeyond Pluto into the Kuiper Belt , althoughwe’re running low on Pu for future deep space missions .
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