GPHS-RTG

Also known as general-purpose heat source—radioisotope thermoelectric generator, general-purpose heat source — radioisotope thermoelectric generator, general-purpose heat source - radioisotope thermoelectric generator

thumb|upright=1.36|Diagram of an RTG used on the Cassini probe thumb|right|Diagram of a stack of general-purpose heat source modules as used in RTGs thumb|right|Image of a plutonium RTG pellet glowing incandescence|red hot. GPHS-RTG or general-purpose heat source — radioisotope thermoelectric generator, is a specific design of the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) used on US space missions. The GPHS-RTG was used on Ulysses (1), Galileo (2), Cassini-Huygens (3), and New Horizons (1).

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, GPHS-RTG is referenced by 50 other articles, and connects out to Cassini−Huygens, General Purpose Heat Source and United States.

It is catalogued under the topic Nuclear power in space.

Its subject is documented across 4 Wikipedia language editions.

Wikidata facts

Diameter: 0.422
Mass: 55.9
Image: RTG at New Horizons (cropped).jpg
Length: 1.14

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Commons category: General Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (GPHS-RTG)
nominal power output: 292

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Encyclopedic overview

4 sections

Contents

GPHS-RTG missions
See also
References
External links

The GPHS-RTG has an overall diameter of 0.422 m and a length of 1.14 m. Each GPHS-RTG has a mass of about 57 kg and generates about 300 watts of electrical power at the start of mission (5.2 We/kg), using about 8.1 kg of Pu-238 which produces about 4,400 watts of thermal power. The plutonium oxide fuel is in 18 GPHSs. Note that the GPHS are cuboid although they contain cylindrical plutonium based pellets.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “GPHS-RTG” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.