The Next Battlestar

NASA's "flagship" missions (Voyager, Cassini, etc.) were once derided by a former NASA Administrator as "battlestars". The thing about the battlestars is that they keep on ticking...well past their planned expiration dates. The other thing about battlestars is that they are often targeted at destinations where the "smaller, cheaper, faster" approach just won't work (the vehicles are not robust enough). In the current issue of The Space Review, Taylor Dinerman looks at two potential "battlestar" missions.