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The voyager probes had 450 watt of total electrical power at launch, supplied by 3 RTGs. The plutonium alone in one of those RTG units (4.5kg) would easily cost
by wcoenen 4y ago
The voyager probes had 450 watt of total electrical power at launch, supplied by 3 RTGs. The plutonium alone in one of those RTG units (4.5kg) would easily cost $10M.
And it's the type of thing that is only used by government programs, very dangerous to handle, and which requires a whole specialized industry to produce. The accounting gets complicated. I wouldn't be surprised by a $100M cost per RTG unit.