Odyssey, a personal concept for an Interstellar Probe.

[Minmus Taster]

Hello! I figured I would post this here as the topic of a dedicated Interstellar spacecraft has been one of much discussion for some time now and I wanted some feedback on a personal mission design of mine, specifically how realistic it is. This is based heavily on the "Interstellar Probe" concept proposed to NASA a couple years back. Please forgive my sloppy drawings 

The Spacecraft:

Spoiler

Odyssey is a somewhat small spacecraft, slightly larger than New Horizons but with a design inspired by the "Voyager" probes. The probe is built around around an octagonal bus with a High Gain Antenna mounted on top.  The craft is equipped with a Magnetometer and on the opposing side a compartment containing the majority of the other instruments.  Also on opposing ends of the craft are two groups of three Plasma Wave Antennas. Also present is a set of camera's to be used during flyby's, though they can be shut off once this phase of the mission is completed. Odyssey gets it's power from a total of four Next Generation RTG's also arranged on opposing sides for balance. All together they should give the craft at least 50 years of consistent full power.

Mission Profile:

Spoiler

In an ideal situation Odyssey would consist of two or even three spacecraft, one heading for the tail of the heliosphere and one heading for it's head. This plan goes under the assumption that full funding is possible but it is possible to get good data out of only one spacecraft.

Odyssey 1:

Odyssey 1 will launch around 2030 travelling to the head of the heliosphere. Launch vehicles are limited due to the sheer amount of power needed to make this flight practical, SLS block 2 or SpaceX Starship are viable options, both must carry an additional Centaur upper stage and Star 48 Booster or similar system. Using this method Odyssey will be able to reach Jupiter in around 7 months for an additional gravity. The crafts final speed will be around 95 kilometers per second or 6-7 AU a year. With a speed Odyssey will be able to reach Interstellar space in 16 years (Voyager 1 arrived after 35 years).

In addition to this Odyssey will be able to flyby a single major KBO and possibly more if a suitable target is found. Currently the prime target for a flyby is the possible Dwarf Planet "Quaoar" and it's only known moon "Weywot". This has been chosen due to it's position along the trajectory of the probe along with the objects unusual nature. Quaoar has a slightly elongated shape and two sets of rings that lie outside the Roche limit where such things are expected. A flyby of the Pluto/Charon system is also possible though a flyby of another object will allow for comparative science between the two objects.

Odyssey 2:

Odyssey 2 will launch around 2033 and travel in the opposite direction to it's sister probe, it will fly through the tail of the heliosphere. The launch profile is identical to Odyssey with a Super Heavy-lift Launcher and a Jupiter Gravity assist propelling the craft to just under 100 Kilometers a second. Unlike the first probe Odyssey 2 is unexpected to enter Interstellar space for quite some time as it has more distance to cover.

Odyssey 2 has a very special target in mind for it's minor planet flyby; the Likely Dwarf Planet Sedna. Sedna is an extremely distant object with an extremely eccentric orbit that takes over 11,500 years to complete. Due to the nature of it's orbit Sedna spends the majority of it's life in Interstellar Space and far beyond the reach of any modern spacecraft. It's also likely to be the first observed object of the hypothesized 'Oort Cloud'. All of this makes Sedna an incredibly appealing target for study and the perfect fit for the mission as it lies in the path of Odyssey 2. With it's speed Odyssey will be able to reach Sedna in as little as 12 years and provide much needed data on the nature of Interstellar Objects and the Oort Cloud.

 

Odyssey 3:

Odyssey 3 would launch around the same time as Odyssey 2 and would travel to the "side" of the heliosphere. Along the way it would make flyby's of Jupiter, Neptune, and an undetermined TNO, likely 'Eris' and it's only known moon 'Dysnomia'.

 

While funding for two or even three flights may not be available a single probe will still gather a wealth of data about the edge of our Solar System. Any of the profiles laid out here could be used as the basis of a single probe mission.

 

Edited April 11, 2024 by Minmus Taster

[Piscator]

I would love to see missions like these. Your timeline might not work out though. I have no idea when Jupiter would actually be in a suitable position for a gravity assist, but to launch probes in two opposite directions you would presumably also need Jupiter in two roughly opposite spots along its orbit. So it would seem more realistic for your "second" mission to launch in 2036 (assuming your launch date in 2030 for the first mission works out), three years after the "third" mission.

[Minmus Taster]

8 hours ago, Piscator said:

I would love to see missions like these. Your timeline might not work out though. I have no idea when Jupiter would actually be in a suitable position for a gravity assist, but to launch probes in two opposite directions you would presumably also need Jupiter in two roughly opposite spots along its orbit. So it would seem more realistic for your "second" mission to launch in 2036 (assuming your launch date in 2030 for the first mission works out), three years after the "third" mission.

Yeah the timelines are a little messy, I used launch windows from Wikipedia and didn't factor in how fast it would be going, by just eyeballing things on Space Engine the Quaoar probe would have to launch around 2033 but could also get  Neptune gravity assist on it's way. Will probably make an updated version of this at some point.

On an interesting note I found the second probe would have to launch around 2038 but there also seems to be a transfer window between Jupiter and Saturn, along with a good window for Haumea or Makemake... hmmm...