Heliocentric telecomunications platform

[kane007]

<b>Proposal</b><br /><br />As we are all aware of and at times miffed at, planetary missions undergo periods of downtime due solar conjunction.<br />Also the existing Deep Space Network is somewhat strained.<br /><br />Heliocentric orbiting satellites are not new, SOHO, Ulysses, <br />ISEE-3/ICE, etc plus the forthcoming (2015) ESA's Solar Orbiter.<br /><br />Now I would like to see 1 or more, satellites placed in a heliocentric or maybe a solar polar orbit, approximately 0.45 AU from the Earth. Its primary task would be to act as an uprated TDRS style telecommunications relay station. Secondary tasks could include solar storm tracking and/or early warning. <br /><br />This would provide near continuous communications capability with all interplanetary missions and less reliance on the DSN, as terrestrial facilities should include normal ground stations.<br />

 

[vogon13]

?<br /><br />Wouldn't you need a 70 meter dish out there to stay in touch with Cassini and New Horizons?<br /><br />Not worth doing unless it duplicates earth based apertures at Spain, Australia, and California.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[kane007]

Or a number of much smaller dishes stretched over a AU using an interferometry protocal.<br /><br />Anyway whats then length of each of the ISS's solar wings?