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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 ro

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...

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...