New Horizons launched towards Pluto
Posted: Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 6:43 PM ET (2343 GMT)
After two days of delays, an Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched NASA's New Horizons mission to the planet Pluto Thursday afternoon. The Atlas 5 551 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 2 pm EST (1900 GMT) Thursday; the spacecraft separated from its Star 48 kick motor 45 minutes later after the Centaur upper stage and the Star 48 put the spacecraft on a trajectory towards Pluto. New Horizons, the first spacecraft even directed to the outermost of the nine classical planets, will fly past Jupiter in early 2007, getting a gravity assist that will allow the spacecraft to fly past Pluto in July 2015. The first launch attempt, on Tuesday, was scrubbed because of high winds at the launch site; Wednesday's attempt was postponed after a power outage at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, which serves as mission control for New Horizons. Thursday's launch was delayed nearly an hour to allow scattered low clouds around the launch site to clear. The launch is the first orbital launch of 2006.
After two days of delays, an Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched NASA's New Horizons mission to the planet Pluto Thursday afternoon. The Atlas 5 551 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 2 pm EST (1900 GMT) Thursday; the spacecraft separated from its Star 48 kick motor 45 minutes later after the Centaur upper stage and the Star 48 put the spacecraft on a trajectory towards Pluto. New Horizons, the first spacecraft even directed to the outermost of the nine classical planets, will fly past Jupiter in early 2007, getting a gravity assist that will allow the spacecraft to fly past Pluto in July 2015. The first launch attempt, on Tuesday, was scrubbed because of high winds at the launch site; Wednesday's attempt was postponed after a power outage at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, which serves as mission control for New Horizons. Thursday's launch was delayed nearly an hour to allow scattered low clouds around the launch site to clear. The launch is the first orbital launch of 2006.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, June 30
Starlink subscriptions drops 11% in Kenya as Safaricom 5G routers win over users
Techcabal — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) Citizens file appeal against 40 Starlink satellite antennae planned in Swiss village
Swissinfo — 5:41 am ET (0941 GMT) Can Starlink stay ahead in satellite internet?
NPR — 5:41 am ET (0941 GMT) Blue Origin successfully launches latest human flight from West Texas
KTSM-TV El Paso — 5:39 am ET (0939 GMT) Blue Origin N-S 33 lifts off
KVIA-TV El Paso, TX — 5:39 am ET (0939 GMT) |
