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This is the Dragonfly spacecraft, ultimately destined for Titan, photographed in July during early construction at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The mission PI, Zibi Turtle, shared this image at the OPAG meeting today. Credit: NASA/JHU APL/Zibi Turtle

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Looks like the RTG mounts to the end facing the top of the image which would appear to balance the weight on the airframe. Will they use the RTG to charge flight batteries, I can't see it delivering flight power on its own even in Titans lower gravity and dense atmosphere.

I don't have access to an RTG but I 𝘥𝘰 mess with drone tech on a 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 smaller scale! I was born with 10% vision and always regretted not being a pilot. But I love a challenge so I build planes I 𝘤𝘢𝘯 fly with stuff I found on Amazon. I convert toy RC planes to FPV and it turns out I'm a great pilot!🧑‍✈️

This plane weighted 55 grams with a wingspan of 12 inches (33cm). I had to add 2 extra motors to give it enough thrust to carry the FPV gear and a digital recorder. It had a flight time of about 4 minutes. I've since made FPV planes that weigh half that including a 3D printed Avro Arrow I designed!😎

Dragonfly: July. Same JHUAPL clean room. More camera angles. No banana in view, though.

Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey@beamjockey.bsky.social

In the #NASA "Eye on Dragonfly" video I enjoyed live views from many angles of the #Dragonfly whirlybird being assembled at @jhuapl.bsky.social. Launch ~July 2028, arrival on Titan late 2034! 🟠🚁