New Horizons I (and II!) Mission Update Thread

jmilsom · Nov 20, 2005

Pluto Mission News November 18, 2005 http://pluto.jhuapl.edu This is direct from the mission site newsletter. New Horizons Launch Preparations Move Ahead Mission team members say the Boeing rocket motor set to boost NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft toward Pluto will be delivered safely and within the rigorous engineering standards demanded in the assembly and testing of such hardware. New Horizons is the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, the region of ancient, icy, rocky bodies on the solar system’s outer frontier. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., during a 35-day window that opens this Jan. 11 and fly through the Pluto system as early as summer 2015. New Horizons will be powered by a single radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), provided by the Department of Energy, which will be installed shortly before launch. Several hundred people around the U.S. are preparing New Horizons for launch. When the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers went on strike in early November, five of its striking workers were involved in final assembly of New Horizons’ third stage, a Boeing STAR 48 solid-propellant kick motor. Boeing replaced the five striking workers with six non-striking workers; the extra assembly worker was added to provide additional oversight. Each of the six current workers has at least eight years of experience with Boeing upper stage motors and is fully qualified to work on the project. “Safety and mission success are of utmost importance to us,” says Glen Fountain, New Horizons project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Md., which manages the mission for NASA and built the New Horizons spacecraft. “We expect this experienced team to finish processing the rocket motor on schedule, so New Horizon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

CalliArcale · Nov 21, 2005

So the strike is affecting New Horizons after all. Drat. Well, it looks like Boeing's handling it effectively. I'm glad they're giving New Horizons enough priority that it can get extra resources to replace the striking workers. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

dragon04 · Nov 22, 2005

Boy, do I wanna see this bird fly. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!". </div>

jmilsom · Nov 25, 2005

For those of you that skip straight to the forums and sometimes miss the main page, there is a great update article on the NH mission written by Leonard David on SDC today, with some great comments from Alan Stern, the mission leader. New Horizons: Voyage to the Edge of the Solar System Days 46 Hours 23 Mins 19 Secs 45 - until opening of primary launch window/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

CalliArcale · Dec 5, 2005

I'm reviving this thread to post some updates as to the mission's status. Last week, Boeing delivered a modified Delta 2 upper stage to the Cape to serve as an extra booster for New Horizons, using non-union workers due to an ongoing rocket workers' strike at Boeing. New Horizons will be mated to it this Friday. Over the weekend, the spacecraft was also loaded with hydrazine propellant in preparation for its long mission. Today, the Lockeed-Martin Atlas V set to launch New Horizons was rolled horizontally to the pad for a countdown rehearsal and a series of preflight testing. It will be loaded with kerosene and liquid oxygen, and its upper stage will be loaded with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. After the countdown rehearsal, the vehicle will be detanked and rolled back to the assembly building, not until it rolls to the pad again on January 10, fully assembled, with the Delta 2 upper stage and New Horizons on the end and ready for launch. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

bpcooper · Dec 5, 2005

Vertically

jmilsom · Dec 6, 2005

Thanks for the update Calli! Just a little over one month to go! Mission Screensaver! Days 35 Hours 21 Mins 41 Secs 14 - until opening of primary launch window/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

bobw · Dec 6, 2005

Final approval to launch must come from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Paul Harvey mentioned that on the radio today, too. It was a pretty wet-blanket kind of moment on the way to work yesterday when I heard him say 'America is planning to launch a satellite, powered by plutonium, to Pluto. The white house has yet to approve the increased risk to central Florida.' Of all the things to tell people about the probe he picks this! When I got to work I told the guys PH should be shot and they all started grumbling at me like I wanted to get Bambi or something LOL. I don't think there is any way Pres. Bush is going to say "no" at this late stage. Why didn't PH just tell us that, since the atmosphere was about to freeze, we need to get there quick and leave it at that? The press will probably be thick with the last-minute protesters. Ugh. For those outside the US, Paul Harvey is the last of the old time radio announcers. His syndicated show is only a few minutes long. He reads a letter from a satisfied walmart customer, wishes some old people a happy 80th wedding aniversary, reads a news headline or two and then says "Good Day!" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

dobbins · Dec 6, 2005

It's nothing new, every time there is a satellite with an RTG the anti-nuclear Luddites come crawling out of the woodwork pushing lurid scare stories.

CalliArcale · Dec 6, 2005

Ah jeez....there goes a lot of my respect for Paul Harvey. Okay, I still like him. I like his old style. Take that, shock jocks! But really, to boil the whole mission down to "it's got plutonium on it and the White House hasn't approved the increased risk" seems to be a backhanded way of implying that NASA a) doesn't get its ducks in a row before going ahead with a multi-million-dollar program, and b) doesnt' care about public safety. Neither is true. The spacecraft is safe. There's more to fear from the Atlas V launch vehicle, frankly, and even that's pretty darn safe, the way Lockheed operates it. (The way *all* rockets are operated.) The odds of any loss of life are pretty slim. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

radarredux · Dec 6, 2005

> It's nothing new, every time there is a satellite with an RTG the anti-nuclear Luddites come crawling out of the woodwork pushing lurid scare stories./i> I remember when Cassini launched, Dr. Michio Kaku we one of the protesters. Givin his high profile, that bothered me more than most. Michio Kaku's site His criticism of Cassini

comga · Dec 11, 2005

from jmilsom: Days 126 Hours 12 Mins 01 Secs 17 - until opening of primary launch window Don't know how you are counting but I get 30 days, 23 hr, 57 min until the opening of the launch window Launch is currently scheduled for four minutes into the window.

krrr · Dec 11, 2005

"Don't know how you are counting but I get" That's because he posted 95 days, 12 hours and 4 minutes before you.

centsworth_II · Dec 11, 2005

You'll notice that jmilsom includes the time to window in all his posts AS OF THE TIME OF THE POST. I'm sincerely hoping that they make the first window, since not doing so will result in a five year delay in arriving at Pluto (15 years as opposed to 10). By the way, it's happened to me more than once that I respond to a post without realizing that I haven't reached the end of the thread. It can lead to some embarrasing misunderstandings.<img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

centsworth_II · Dec 11, 2005

"I'm sincerely hoping that they make the first window..." Actually, the five year penalty may kick in at the end of the first window. I don't even know if there is a separate second window. I think they have 2 or 3 weeks to get it off and still get there in 10 years. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

teije · Dec 11, 2005

From what I heard, the primary launch window (2006) includes a Jovian flyby and is ~10 years to pluto. The secondary launch window is in the beginning of 2007 and does not include a Jovian flyby. That flyby is the reason for the delay of 5 years. (~ 2000 m/s dV at Jupiter if I'm not misinformed. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> )

bpcooper · Dec 11, 2005

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av010/051129windows.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -Ben </div>

teije · Dec 12, 2005

Nice link Ben! Thanks for that! Also note this article today at SDC: http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_051212.html As stated in the link provided by BPCooper, I was wrong on my post above. Only the first 23 days of the 35 day primary launch window include the Jupiter gravity assist. So, let's hope all goes to plan and NH can launch early in the primary launch window. <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> Teije

henryhallam · Dec 13, 2005

I remember when Cassini launched, Dr. Michio Kaku we one of the protesters. Givin his high profile, that bothered me more than most. Dr Kaku is known for his somewhat outlandish ideas (in his field) and personally I think he is at least a little bit nutty...

jmilsom · Dec 13, 2005

Yes. Great link Ben with the launch window times. And teije is right - everyone fingers crossed for a launch in the first 23 days after the opening of the primary launch window on January 11, 2006 - later launches will add years to the travel times. Comga, when I post I have the mission countdown open in a separate window, so that the countdown is accurate at the time of posting (except the seconds are probably a little out!). So at the time of this post.................... Days 28 Hours 03 Mins 33 Secs 23 - until opening of primary launch window/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

jmilsom · Dec 14, 2005

There are two good updates on the mission site this week. The PI, Alan Stern, gives a very detailed account of current launch preparations in the first link, noting the team is still on track for the opening of the Jupiter-Pluto launch window, which opens at 2:11 p.m. Eastern time, on Jan. 11, 2006. And it is incredible that this mission will be launched just after the 100th birthday of Dr. Gerald Kuiper! See second article link. New Horizons Mission News December 12, 2005 http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ The PI's Perspective: Next Month, We Aim to Fly! It's been a long road to the launch pad for the world's first mission to Pluto – more than 17 years since one young scientist approached NASA on the prospect of sending a spacecraft to the ninth planet. Now, with New Horizons' January 2006 launch window fast approaching, Principal Investigator Alan Stern writes in his monthly PI Perspective column that the mission team can finally say: "Next month, we set sail for Pluto." Full Story Here Happy Birthday, Dr. Kuiper! On Dec. 7, 1905, Dutch-American astronomer Gerard P. Kuiper was born in Harenscarpel, The Netherlands. Just over one month from now, NASA plans to launch its first mission, New Horizons, to explore the fascinating region of the solar system that Kuiper foresaw. Full Story Here At the time of this post....... Days 28 Hours 03 Mins 26 Secs 16 - until opening of primary launch window/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

bpcooper · Dec 16, 2005

Launch has been postponed to NET Jan 17: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av010/status.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> -Ben </div>

jmilsom · Dec 16, 2005

I thought that it may be useful to combine past question threads on this mission into one update thread where we Plutophiles can discuss the mission. There have been three threads in the past as follows: New Horizons Spacecraft posted in March 05 by dark_energy New Horizons Mission on Target? posted in Sep 04 by jhunter New Horizons Pluto Mission - they need a lander posted in Jan 05 by BeCarlson The New Horizons mission to Pluto, Charon and the Kuiper Belt will open a window on the last unexplored part of our solar system. Apart from being a great technological achievement and incredible journey, it stands to round out our knowledge of the solar system, give new insight into the icy bodies of the Kuiper Belt (which formed over four billion years ago), and should give us new data on solar system formation. It will also study Pluto's escaping atmosphere. It has taken a long time to get this mission off the ground but it looks like it is set for launch in January 2006. It will take 14 years to reach Pluto and the Kuiper Belt arriving in the summer of 2015!!!. For the unconverted, there is an excellent book that gives a history of Pluto and efforts to develop an exploratory mission written by Alan Stern entitled "Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds at the Ragged Edge of the Solar System." This is a well-written popular science book for the layperson and is actually a real page turner. The mission web site is located here: http://plut <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

jmilsom · Dec 18, 2005

They are certainly leaving nothing to chance: Lockheed Martin says a test tank failed just under the "ultimate pressure" threshold it should withstand. That led to workers reinspecting all of the tanks that had been produced in the factory. The new launch date is still well within the 23-day non-delay period, so fingers crossed for a January 17 launch. As long as it is launched by Jan 28, it will still reach Pluto by 2015 Days 23 Hours 22 Mins 30 Secs 20 - until opening of primary launch window (+ 6 days to launch) /safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

centsworth_II · Dec 18, 2005

NASA TV New Horizons Media Briefing http://www1.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html "The programs listed below are changes to the general NASA Television schedule. All times are Eastern U.S. time. December 19, Monday 1 p.m. - - HQ (Interactive News Conference)" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

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