If Launched by 2028, a Spacecraft Could Catch up With Oumuamua in 26 Years - Universe Today universetoday storybywill
, which included concepts for an interstellar probe. In Appendix D2.2., the study addresses thermal protection in the context of a Solar Oberth Maneuver:
“Because a conceptual design effort cannot include all the material design, fabrication, and testing limitations of the full design, the final recommendation of allowable Sun distance is made based on where the design seems to be moving from very difficult to impossible.”amply demonstrates, getting close to the Sun requires a heat shield that can handle the extreme heat and radiation. In the case of, that shield measures about 2.44 meters in diameter and weighs almost 72.5 kg .
“JOM is a discovery which is key to the remit of ‘Project Lyra’ to find options using ‘current or near-term technology’ as essentially it does not require any hardware or manoeuvres which have not been tried before, unlike the SOM. Nevertheless, despite the saving in time from not requiring & above – the lower escape speeds generated by the JOM mean the mission duration must be longer.”