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#1 2005-02-01 21:44:21
- BWhite
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- From: Chicago, Illinois
- Registered: 2004-06-16
- Posts: 2,635
Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]
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#2 2005-02-01 22:20:18
- John Creighton
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- From: Nova Scotia, Canada
- Registered: 2001-09-04
- Posts: 2,401
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Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
I’m sad to see the project killed or delayed but at least NASA is continuing to research nuclear proportion. Perhaps when a bigger launcher vehicle is available and more of the research is done the project will be rekindled. Hopefully this time with being able to map the moons via a polar orbit. How big is JIMO compared co Cassini?
Dig into the [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/2006/12/political-grab-bag.html]political grab bag[/url] at [url=http://child-civilization.blogspot.com/]Child Civilization[/url]
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#3 2005-02-01 23:01:53
- Commodore
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- From: Upstate NY, USA
- Registered: 2004-07-25
- Posts: 1,021
Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
I doubt they'll kill it. They'll never use a reactor on the VSE without testing it first, and they'll never spend that much money without a serious science mission attached.
Prometheus is nowheres near ready to get off the ground.
"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane
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#4 2005-02-02 05:42:25
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,436
Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
I could see why renaming the promethues program Prometheus 1 in order to distance the JIMO mission from the research of nuclear reactors.
Having Done so, what would the first reactor be used for under the prometheus nuclear program and where would its new destination be for trial testing?
Is a reactor in the cards for the manned moon missions first under the space exploration vision?
Was there not also some mention of another nuclear propulsion mission just within the last few months leaked as discussed in this thread
Neptune Orbiter with Probes, ...part of NASA's "Vision Missions"
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#5 2005-02-02 07:35:59
- clark
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- Registered: 2001-09-20
- Posts: 6,375
Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
It was my bet with you, and the bet (IIRC) was on Prometheus funding... which was under JIMO, but is now under VSE (office of exploration).
You still owe me dinner. 
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#6 2005-04-06 06:31:02
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 29,436
Re: Adios JIMO? - Was that my bet or was it Josh?
NASA’s Prometheus: Fire, Smoke And Mirrors
NASA’s Prometheus program to employ nuclear reactors in space is a work in progress – viewed as a key building block of the space agency’s vision for space exploration. NASA had its eyes on the Jupiter Icy Moon Mission, With a launch date of 2015 and a mission design life of 20 years, the flagship mission was lowered to half mast.
Prometheus officials are now looking at other targets to showcase a space nuclear power system. Less demanding in terms of overall lifetime, this Prometheus mission would happen sooner and likely journey to a closer-in target.
What other targets one might ask?
passible use in telecomunication is mentioned later in the article. But for where?
Under an agreement signed last August, the reactor for Prometheus is being developed for NASA by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Naval Reactors in Washington, D.C. They are no newcomers to nuclear power plants. Naval Reactors provides nuclear propulsion plants for the Navy’s fleet of aircraft carriers, as well as attack and strategic submarines.
But not any experience for space missions.
Apparant reassigning of the task:
Last September, JPL selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology of Redondo Beach, California as the contractor for co-designing the proposed Prometheus spacecraft. The contract award is for approximately $400 million, covering work through mid-2008.
"Prometheus is the project name, not the destination, Prometheus is a template spacecraft that will explore a number of different locations,
Fiscal responsibility:
A report released in February by the General Accountability Office (GAO) noted that Prometheus 1 will surely undergo budgetary conniptions over the years. The project will compete for funds with other space missions, such as returning the space shuttle to flight and tidying up the International Space Station program.
In their report, GAO pointed to a 2004 study by the Congressional Budget Office that pegged the JIMO cost estimate at around $10 billion.
The GAO report, NASA’s Space Vision: Business Case for Prometheus 1 Needed to Ensure Requirements Match Available Resources, emphasized the need for "a sound business case" for the effort. To do so, a project must have well-defined requirements, realistic cost estimates, as well as mature technology.
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