Great picture - however - I’m all for (unmanned) space exploration, but for $700 million is that all we get?
Well, considering the fabrication costs, the R&D, the cost of fuel for 9 years and the salary to pay the PHD braniacs who run this thing, I think it's money well spent.
Just think how much it would cost if they were union employees (the IBPHD...The International Brotherhood of PHDs)..........LOL!
Much more coming starting tomorrow. They oriented the probe to gather as much data as possible during the close approach rather than have it spend that time pointing back towards earth. It’ll phone home briefly at 9pm tonight, then starting tomorrow morning it will stream back all of the data for the next 16 months. Press conference I watched said the bit rate was between 1kb/sec to 4kb/sec depending on if they have it do some sort of spin while it transmits.
Should have the closeups soon!
Dude, it's PLUTO.
There are 320 million people in this country. That staggeringly phenomenal photograph, and all the others to follow that will be much higher resolution, and the massive amount of scientific data collected outside of photographs - this entire, incredible scientific and technological triumph, cost you $2.19.
Deal with it.