Eduardo-Tarasca — Shackleton-at-closest-approach
by-nc-nd
Published: 2020-10-27 07:49:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 242; Favourites: 2; Downloads: 0 Redirect to originalDescription
A simulated view of a flyby of the ~220-km wide KBO Leleakuhonua by the (hypothetical) Shackleton spacecraft as it nears closest approach. For the sake of visual clarity, instead of a black background, I decided to use a grey colour scheme. Here we see the aft-end of the spacecraft, with the main high-gain antenna dish oriented in the ram (forwward) direction. The short cylindrical object at downward-pointing end of the spacecraft is the radioisotope thermoelectric generatorn (RTG). The RTG uses the heat generated by the radioactive decay of plutonium to prodice the electricity needed to power the instruments and systems aboard the spacecraft. The magnetometer boom is seen here pointing directly upwards.
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