Comment Re:I'm quite surprised it wasn't (Score 1) 523
Check out the SNAP-19.
I know of it - it powered the Pioneer spacecraft in the early 1970s. Can I get one today? No. Can anyone take the drawings for it (assuming they can be found) and manufacture new ones for signficantly less than the cost of creating a modern design? Probably not. Could the ESA do it? Probably not.
I reiterate the points in my earlier post. Please read further.