Orpheus is an autonomous long-duration survey craft designed to listen where conventional observatories cannot.
MISSION OBJECTIVES
- Map low-frequency emissions beyond Jupiter's radio shadow.
- Record the plasma boundary at the edge of the heliosphere.
- Characterise unplanned solid-object returns using optical and radar instruments.
- Test autonomous navigation during close survey passes.
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
| Vehicle | ORP-7 deep-space surveyor |
|---|---|
| Launch | 06 April 2001 · Woomera Range |
| Dry mass | 4,870 kg |
| Primary computer | CORD D-88 redundant flight processor |
| Archive medium | 12 × Type-9 ferric data cartridges |
| Design life | 1,600 days |
| Current range | 5.73 AU |
MISSION TIMELINE
- 1996
- Outer radio survey proposed under Directive 41.
- 2001
- ORP-7 launched and commissioned.
- 2002
- Jovian gravity assist completed.
- 2003
- Geometric Object 7A located; contact lost 38 seconds after the close-survey burn.