NASA's New Horizons space probe is due to launch later today, on its way to study Pluto, its moon Charon, and the primordial Kuiper Belt.
NASA prepared to launch an unmanned, piano-sized probe that will fly by Pluto, the solar system's last unexplored planet, and also study a mysterious zone of icy objects that surrounds the frosty planet at the outer edges of the planetary system."What we know about Pluto today could fit on the back of a postage stamp," said Colleen Hartman, a deputy associate administrator at NASA. "The textbooks will be rewritten after this mission is completed."
The New Horizons spacecraft will lift off on an Atlas V rocket and speed away from Earth at 36,000 mph, the fastest spacecraft ever launched. It will reach Earth's moon in about nine hours and arrive in 13 months at Jupiter, where it will use the giant planet's gravity as a slingshot, shaving five year off the 3-billion-mile trip.
Some NASA safety managers had raised concerns about a fuel tank similar to the one expected to be used on the rocket during launch since the test tank had failed a pressure evaluation at the factory. The decision ultimately was made to fly since the flight tank was in pristine condition and had no signs of any defects like the ones found on the tank that had undergone "brutal" tests, said NASA launch director Omar Baez.
The launch had drawn protests from anti-nuclear activists because the spacecraft will be powered by 24 pounds of plutonium, which will produce energy from natural radioactive decay.
Related:
• NASA - New Horizons mission site
• Johns Hopkins APL - New Horizons project site
• The Planetary Society - New Horizons: Explore the Cosmos
UPDATE: Today's launch aborted due to high winds both at the pad and aloft. Re-scheduled for tomorrow.
Posted by Alan at January 17, 2006 12:13 PM