New Horizons 2

Design of the first New Horizons spacecraft

New Horizons 2 (also New Horizons II, NHII, or NH2) was a proposed mission to the trans-Neptunian objects by NASA. It was conceived as a planetary flyby mission in 2002, based on the New Horizons spacecraft, which was in development at the time.^[1][2] In March 2005, the proposal was not selected for further development because of a shortage of plutonium-238 needed for the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG).^[3] The New Horizons 2 study was funded by the New Frontiers program, and delivered to the U.S. Congress in June 2005.^[4]

Description

New Horizons 2 was included in the tentative budget for the New Frontiers program missions.^[5] In 2004, the United States Senate on Appropriations Committee provided additional funding for New Horizons 2, a new Kuiper belt mission.^[6] As early as 2004, there was a conference on how to make the most use of New Horizons 2's Uranus flyby.^[7]

Candidate targets included 47171 Lempo, a system that, like Pluto–Charon, contains multiple bodies.^[5] The mission plan for Lempo also included flybys of Jupiter and Uranus,^[5] and perhaps four Kuiper belt objects (KBO).^[2] There was a lot of flexibility: even without a gravity assist, any KBO within 50 AU and a 20-year flight time was possible.^[3] A flyby of Neptune's Triton was also considered, with 66652 Borasisi as a potential follow-on.^[3] 2002 UX₂₅ was also considered for a visit, as it had a similar orbit to Lempo.^[8]

See also

• Innovative Interstellar Explorer (2003 concept study for RTG powered ion-engined probe to 200 AU by 2030)
• List of New Horizons topics

References

1. Portree, David S. F. (May 22, 2012). "New Horizons II (2004-2005)". Wired.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
2. Stern, Alan; Binzel, Rick; et al. "New Horizons 2" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
3. Anderson, Kenneth; Bearden, David; et al. (May 31, 2005). Final report of the New Horizons II review panel (PDF) (Report). Lunar and Planetary Institute.
4. "Presentation: SSE Decadal Survey and New Horizons: A Rough Start" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Institute. June 2005.
5. Bruno, Claudio; Czysz, Paul A. (2009). Future spacecraft propulsion systems: enabling technologies for space exploration. Springer Praxis books in astronautical engineering (2. ed.). Berlin: Springer. p. 378. ISBN 978-3-540-88814-7.
6. Stern, Alan (October 5, 2004). "New Horizons For Planetary Exploration". SpaceDaily. Bouler, CO. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
7. Moore, Jeff (June 5, 2004). "Revolution Afoot– Cheaper, More Frequent Outer Planets Missions – New Horizons II Workshop". Spacenews. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
8. Portree, David S. F. (14 July 2015). "No Shortage of Dreams: New Horizons II (2004-2005)". No Shortage of Dreams.

External links

• New Horizons 2 Concept Overview (Feb 2005) PPT (15.6MB)
• Final Report of the New Horizons 2 review panel via Lunar and Planetary Institute