3 ms·

Europa Clipper electronics are contained in a 9.2 mm thick aluminum-zinc vault. https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/342/electronics-vault/ https://europa.nasa.go

Europa Clipper electronics are contained in a 9.2 mm thick aluminum-zinc vault. https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/342/electronics-vault/ https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/342/electronics-vault/

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> Europa Clipper electronics are contained in a 9.2 mm thick aluminum-zinc vault Were it designed today we'd probably dope it with titanium [1][2]. [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420150.2023.2249180 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420150.2023.2... [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149197020302201 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01491...
indoordin0saur 2y ago
Could they find some margin to make it a bit thicker? I know this would increase the weight but if my image of how big this electronics vault must be I'd imagine they could find something less critical to shave off to offset it.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > I'd imagine they could find something less critical to shave off to offset it You’re still changing the spacecraft’s balance. Imagine moving one of an airliner’s engines a foot to the left. It can be done. But it’s a big change. Now consider that “modern jet airliners have…useful load fractions, on the order of 45–55%,” while orbital rockets’ payload fractions are “between 1% and 5%” [1]. Deep space craft are another order of magnitude more sensitive. Adding a little shielding here and there is the aeronautical equivalent of hanging a bag of bar bells off the tips of one of the wings. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_fraction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_fraction Note: useful load != payload fraction, but within orders of magnitudes they’re comparable
- basementcat 2y ago
  Unless the launch is postponed 2 years, I think any redesign of the vault at this point is unlikely. Clipper was originally designed to be launched on an SLS rocket and that was swapped out for a less powerful Falcon Heavy* so there isn’t going to be much room for extra mass. Additional mass may require more planetary "slingshots" and add more years before Jupiter arrival. Hopefully SpaceX is able to resolve its Falcon second stage problems before Clipper is scheduled to launch. * There were some discussions about adding a Thiokol Star 37 or Star 48 apogee kick motor to the Falcon Heavy stack for Clipper but for various reasons this didn’t happen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(rocket_stage) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(rocket_stage)
  - Manabu-eo 2y ago
    Went searching for the "various reasons". Found this: > Falcon Heavy rocket, having three launches under its belt, has proven more powerful than originally anticipated. Previously, it was thought that launching Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy would require a “kick” stage — essentially a small booster attached to the top of the rocket. The Falcon Heavy’s impressive performance has made that unnecessary. Moreover, mission designers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found a path to Jupiter called a MEGA trajectory: after launch on a Falcon Heavy, Europa Clipper would fly to Mars for a gravity assist, and then return to Earth for another, and then on to the Jovian system. (The mission previously believed that the rocket would necessitate a Venus gravity assist, which would require special thermal protection for the spacecraft.) > The window for a MEGA launch opens in 2024 and would take only three years longer than an SLS flight. A Falcon Heavy expendable launch is about $150 million. A single SLS launch is now estimated to cost $2 billion. Source: https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/europa-clipper-inches-forward-shackled-to-the-earth https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/europa-clipper-inches...
- mandevil 2y ago
  If you are going to the trouble to take apart and redesign the system, it would be far easier and less dramatic to just replace the possibly out of spec transistors.

Europa Clipper electronics are contained in a 9.2 mm thick aluminum-zinc vault. https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/342/electronics-vault/ https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/342/electronics-vault/

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> Europa Clipper electronics are contained in a 9.2 mm thick aluminum-zinc vault Were it designed today we'd probably dope it with titanium [1][2]. [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420150.2023.2249180 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420150.2023.2... [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149197020302201 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01491...

indoordin0saur 2y ago

Could they find some margin to make it a bit thicker? I know this would increase the weight but if my image of how big this electronics vault must be I'd imagine they could find something less critical to shave off to offset it.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> I'd imagine they could find something less critical to shave off to offset it You’re still changing the spacecraft’s balance. Imagine moving one of an airliner’s engines a foot to the left. It can be done. But it’s a big change. Now consider that “modern jet airliners have…useful load fractions, on the order of 45–55%,” while orbital rockets’ payload fractions are “between 1% and 5%” [1]. Deep space craft are another order of magnitude more sensitive. Adding a little shielding here and there is the aeronautical equivalent of hanging a bag of bar bells off the tips of one of the wings. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_fraction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_fraction Note: useful load != payload fraction, but within orders of magnitudes they’re comparable
basementcat 2y ago
Unless the launch is postponed 2 years, I think any redesign of the vault at this point is unlikely. Clipper was originally designed to be launched on an SLS rocket and that was swapped out for a less powerful Falcon Heavy* so there isn’t going to be much room for extra mass. Additional mass may require more planetary "slingshots" and add more years before Jupiter arrival. Hopefully SpaceX is able to resolve its Falcon second stage problems before Clipper is scheduled to launch. * There were some discussions about adding a Thiokol Star 37 or Star 48 apogee kick motor to the Falcon Heavy stack for Clipper but for various reasons this didn’t happen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(rocket_stage) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_(rocket_stage)
- Manabu-eo 2y ago
  Went searching for the "various reasons". Found this: > Falcon Heavy rocket, having three launches under its belt, has proven more powerful than originally anticipated. Previously, it was thought that launching Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy would require a “kick” stage — essentially a small booster attached to the top of the rocket. The Falcon Heavy’s impressive performance has made that unnecessary. Moreover, mission designers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found a path to Jupiter called a MEGA trajectory: after launch on a Falcon Heavy, Europa Clipper would fly to Mars for a gravity assist, and then return to Earth for another, and then on to the Jovian system. (The mission previously believed that the rocket would necessitate a Venus gravity assist, which would require special thermal protection for the spacecraft.) > The window for a MEGA launch opens in 2024 and would take only three years longer than an SLS flight. A Falcon Heavy expendable launch is about $150 million. A single SLS launch is now estimated to cost $2 billion. Source: https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/europa-clipper-inches-forward-shackled-to-the-earth https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/europa-clipper-inches...
mandevil 2y ago
If you are going to the trouble to take apart and redesign the system, it would be far easier and less dramatic to just replace the possibly out of spec transistors.