does insurance protect panels from space debris ?

[ivan]

Saw on the news that it may have landed in S. England. If it has the titanium canisters they tend to use for storing propellant, they normally survive reentry, and I imagine the heat shield would survive re-entry, so hard to imagine there's nothing left to reach the ground. Conspiracy theory - the UK intelligence service is covering it up as they want to reverse engineer whatever survives to get their hands on 50yr old Russian technology!

[AE-NMidlands]

Saw on the news that it may have landed in S. England. If it has the titanium canisters they tend to use for storing propellant, they normally survive reentry, and I imagine the heat shield would survive re-entry, so hard to imagine there's nothing left to reach the ground. Conspiracy theory - the UK intelligence service is covering it up as they want to reverse engineer whatever survives to get their hands on 50yr old Russian technology!

or there is a nuclear generator in it, and "they" don't want the population alarmed by the thought of radioactive isotopes being scattered around them...

[Crastney]

I heard it had landed in the Indian Ocean...?

[ivan]

Im guessing no thermo-nuclear generators on-board - as these use the temperature difference between the hot nuclear fuel and the cold (usually of deep space). Not much use for a venus trip - as plenty of sunshine on the way there, and temperature on the surface is probably higher than the radioactive source.

[Bugtownboy]

I heard it had landed in the Indian Ocean...?

https://www.livescience.com/space/space ... s-in-orbit


Thankfully , as we we’re having an extended family BBQ and I was sort of convinced it would crash nearby just to make MiL’s year

I mean we’d got the weather, food and everything else sorted what was left to go wrong

[AE-NMidlands]

Im guessing no thermo-nuclear generators on-board - as these use the temperature difference between the hot nuclear fuel and the cold (usually of deep space). Not much use for a venus trip - as plenty of sunshine on the way there, and temperature on the surface is probably higher than the radioactive source.

That's reassuring, thanks.

[AE-NMidlands]

I heard it had landed in the Indian Ocean...?

https://www.livescience.com/space/space ... s-in-orbit
Thankfully , as we we’re having an extended family BBQ and I was sort of convinced it would crash nearby just to make MiL’s year
I mean we’d got the weather, food and everything else sorted what was left to go wrong

But what a finale that would be to a barbecue... Toast the M-i-law, thank the wife for everything and then... look up everyone for our special display!
(if it had been in the right place at the right time of day!)

I was lucky enough to be outdoors at Dungeness all day (plus 1 either side) when the last total eclipse occurred. Lots of plant maintainance people turned up to do their job that day, and they had spare welding glasses to share round!

[Bugtownboy]

Unfortunately, as MiL can be rather negative in her outlook , it would be more of

‘And do you know, a bloody satellite crashed in the field nearby.

Why they can’t organise a bbq properly, I don’t know ’

[MikeNovack]

Im guessing no thermo-nuclear generators on-board - as these use the temperature difference between the hot nuclear fuel and the cold (usually of deep space). Not much use for a venus trip - as plenty of sunshine on the way there, and temperature on the surface is probably higher than the radioactive source.

UH ... the atomic batteries of that time (and now) nothing like a thermonuclear powered heat engine.

You take a spherical shell of some metal with a hole in it. Through that hole, projecting into the center, a rod. At the tip of the rod a radioactive substance that is emitting (very) high energy alpha particles or beta particles (which then collide with the shell. Typical might be an alpha emitter like Polonium, say the isotope with a half life of ~100 days and the energy of the alpha particle ~5 Mev. If instead designing for a mission lasting a couple thousand years, might instead use Radium.

Of course instead of a sphere, could be a cylinder with radioactive wire down center. That's what some of modern ones are like. Use Nickle 63, a beta emitter. Far safer as even very igh energy beta particles (electrons) won't far through even just air.

[ivan]

http://theconversation.com/radioisotope ... aft-248504

They use 'RTGs' -nuclear thermal energy source + thermo-electric piles (TEGs) to power deep-space probes and for probes expected to last long durations with little or no sunshine - It's really pretty much the same as the heat-powered fans that you put on top of stoves. But the heat is generated from a small amount of radioactive material such as plutonium, which will stay hot for a LONG time. The Voyager spacecrafts' generator has dropped to slightly under 50% of what it was on launch day - but that's not bad after 48years in space!