Radioisotope rocket: Difference between revisions

The inadvertent construction of a radioisotope rocket is one of the suggested solutions to the [[Pioneer anomaly]]. The Pioneer space probes are powered by [[radioisotope thermal generator]]sgenerators located on the end of a long arm to keep their radiation away from the spacecraft electronics. In this position the back of the main radio dish is preferentially exposed, meaning that radiation (primarily infra-red) scattered by the dish would tend to be scattered to the rear of the spacecraft. This could lead to a ''tiny'' amount of net thrust being generated, although all calculations to date suggest it is not enough in itself to fully explain the effect.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}