The General-Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (GPHS-RTG) was developed for the originally planned International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM). [ISPM would later, with the elimination of the NASA spacecraft, become the Ulysses mission.] At 300 We beginning-of-life (BOL) power, the GPHS-RTG was the most powerful RTG with the highest specific power (5.3 We/kg) of any space RTG. These improved performance attributes of the GPHS-RTG made it attractive for use on the Galileo mission. Subsequently, the GPHS-RTG was selected to power the Cassini spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Saturn, and the New Horizons spacecraft which is on its way to Pluto. Truly, the GPHS-RTG is a “general-purpose” space RTG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]