Spacecraft Bound for Pluto Set to Awake Nine Years After Launch

KABC ^

[BenLurkin]

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is set to awake on Dec. 6 from the last of its 18 hibernation periods and prepare for its initial approach towards Pluto, which will take place on Jan. 15.

The spacecraft is scheduled to come as close as 6,200 miles from the surface of Pluto on July 14, 2015 -- the closest any man-made object has come to the dwarf planet.

[Bobalu]

There are few things more precious than a really smart girl!

Hat tip to your brilliant daughter my FRiend :-)

[keat]

What’s needed is something that can deliver constant thrust for very long periods of time

Ah, yeah.

[Bobalu]

From one Freeper Ham to another...your daughters roommate sounds like a brilliant girl! Such girls are very precious and young nerds are always in search of them.

[txnativegop]

Thanks.

[null and void]

I get spam written in Cyrilic...

[Redcitizen]

Waiting for the New Horizons spacecraft to discover Taurans and collapsars.

[radu]

Ouch! It’s been that long? I remember New Horizons’ launch but it doesn’t seem that long ago. Time sure slips by fast!!

Can’t wait to see what it sends back!

[Deo volente]

Artist’s conception of the view from the surface of Pluto. The bright star is the Sun and on the left is Pluto’s moon Charon.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/ESO-L._Cal%C3%A7ada_-_Pluto_%28by%29.jpg

[doug from upland]

HERE IS WHAT WILL BE FOUND

[minnesota_bound]

Geez.... come as close as 6,200 miles from the surface of Pluto.

You would think after all that time they would get a much closer look!!!

[Rembrandt]

I nominate Algore as the first astronaut - He can scream about global cooling on Pluto and lobby for it’s return to plenary plantetary status.

[BradyLS]

Looking at it again, I must say — that really is ghastly.

Yes, but when you wear it and fussy folk cluck about it, you can just look 'em dead in the eye and say "I'm going for the broad-minded, scientific, European flight-controller look. Self-empowered liberated chicks dig it."

Then give 'em a wink, laugh gregariously, and say you were really going for American Democrat hipster irony.

You'll be a hit at all the parties! ;-) :-D :-)

[doug from upland]

Awesome rendition

[tophat9000]

What a Micky Mouse set up ...nine years to go to Pluto? ..That’s just Goofy

[Dagnabitt]

Check out the Webb Space Telescope, set for a 2018 launch. It will be 100x as powerful as Hubble and parked way out at the “L2” point. We may get our minds blown by what it finds.

[fso301]

I was born in ‘64

In my lifetime, man has walked in space, walked on the moon, and sent probes and/or satellites to just about every planet. If you consider the voyager program, we have even sent probes outside of our solar system.

Imagine the person born circa 1890 while the frontier was still open who lived into their nineties!

[PIF]

Will turning it on, after a long hibernation, trigger the dread divide by zero error? Stay tuned ...

[Rebelbase]

“I believe there are now 5 moons and possible rings.”

If true, the “Rings of Pluto” should become a new metaphor for obscure.

[PIF]

46 years ago we could have explored the solar system and gone to the stars, but the failure of political will ended that dream. Until there is a political will to do so, we will never go - at least not the USA, private enterprise not withstanding.

By 1974 manned missions above LEO died. What we see today is a lame attempt to recreate something we already did. Surely, the new Orion is exciting with lots of bells and whistles, but it is essentilally a place holder for maintaining skills which would otherwise be lost. This latest effort will only last as long as there is political will to do so, then it will die again.

There is only one technology we have currently which is efficient and workable for human space exploration: Nuclear. And that is the one technology we are not permitted to use. You do the math.

The First Orion:

These ships - which is what they would have been - could carry a crew of 20 to the hundreds, depending on the size of the ship. In fact, the bigger the ship, the better it would have preformed.

Each ship would be able to generate artificial gravity during the voyage. Radiation would have been absorbed by the water shield around crew accessible areas - showers could be taken every day with no water restrictions - so massive were these ships.

In the videos, each of the launch rockets were either Saturn 5 engines or equivalents. While it does not show in the videos, course correction would have been done by small thrusters.

The design of the 'bombs' to be used is still classified, as they were exceedingly small. No usage of them until well clear of Earth's upper atmosphere.

Origins of Explosive propulsion 1919

Early Imaging of Orion

Newer Imaging: Mission from Feb 1969 - April 1970

[trebb]

I was born in ‘64 In my lifetime, man has walked in space, walked on the moon, and sent probes and/or satellites to just about every planet. If you consider the voyager program, we have even sent probes outside of our solar system. It is unlikely that I will live long enough to see regular travels to the planets or interstellar travel. However, it is exciting times none the less.

I was born in '52 - I got to see cars evolve into land creatures as their fins gradually disappeared.

Those of us born in '50s and '60s have seen some huge changes indeed - I have some older friends who saw much more...most of them have succumbed to old age, but a few are still around to relate stories and wisdom.