ULA ACES as planetary probe

ACES with MOOG ESPA rings with the Ice giant study report 150 Kg science payload to 500 days Neptune orbit insertion(Lower energy) ACES needs deepspace avionics and com/nav and HGA and the RTG’s, Use Triton to lower Apogee  from 500 days to 30 day orbits & collect Triton ROW world ocean data with close flybys

Fly ACES with deep space  JPL quality COM Nav and additional data and computer plus software onboard the ACES stage   $? Million

OPAG Ice Giant study group 150 Kg science payloads are costed at $360 Million, these perhaps could be arrayed around an ESPA ring and the foreword ACES dome.The Ice Giant study report had the spacecraft avionics and com/nav at another $400 Million for an ice giant deep space mission.An assumption might be that ACES with the above payload would cost $760 Million

ICE Giant study report

This deepspace ACES might need a Hypergolic station keeping system along with the science instrument RTG requirements

ACES as a planetary spacecraft is the new model of the old Mariner Mark – II idea of serially produced deepspace spacecraft its also a gamble can ULA participate with the Terrestrial & cislunar exploration technologies company ESOP  in a leveraged funded loan purchase of ULA products? can we sell ride share and or data collected from a deep space planetary mission?

Solar arrays also attached to an ESPA ring and it powers a SEP engine out to 5 AU, keep or jettison? cryogenic Xenon cooled by ACES LO2 expended by the time  5 AU  is reached to bring the most chemical propellant to the Ice Giant ROW Pluto systems.SHERPA is an ESPA with its own engine and station keeping so both Ice Giants could have two spacecraft in orbit

ACES as planetary probe replaces the Mustafi Idea

18-Mustafi