The NASA space probe to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, New Horizons, is set to launch very late this Tuesday night Singapore time (actually Wednesday morning, 2:24am, Singapore time):
"Liftoff of the spacecraft atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket is set for 1:24 p.m. ET Tuesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida."
(CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/ ... index.html )
(Florida is now 13 hrs behind us. See, we are ahead of the Americans!)
This would be the first probe to Pluto, I think, and it will take New Horizons nearly 10 years to get there. On the way, it will sling past Jupiter.
I hope to watch the launch live on CNN, or if not, on the web:
http://countdown.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/public/
Here is a site on the mission:
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php
Anyone who manages to watch the launch, post your comments here!
Pluto probe launch Tuesday night
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starfinder
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Airconvent
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yes....I've been monitoring its progress.
this is really a very good expedition. it its successful, we would have sent probes to all the currently known planets in our solar system (less the newly discovered one but hey, maybe that will come after the Pluto flyby..
For the project people, their job was known as a pioneer-to-retiree project.
they started as junior staff when this project was first mooted year ago and by the time the probe completes its Pluto flyby and subsequent KBO flyby , they would have been close to retiring...
In fact, for all of us living today, this is the last chance for us to see a close up photo of Pluto within our lifetime. if the project fails or they miss the coming launch window, the arrival to Pluto will be delayed by years and by then , the thin atmosphere would have frozen.
what does irk me is there is no attempt to include an orbiter in the package. at least we will be able to study the atmosphere as it freezes itself out.
also, some anti-nucleat group was protesting the use of Plutonium for this project. they are blind as to what cassini is opening up to us. they failed to realise that nuclear energy is presently the ONLY form of power for any deep space probe....beyond Jupiter, solar panels would have been useless...sigh
this is really a very good expedition. it its successful, we would have sent probes to all the currently known planets in our solar system (less the newly discovered one but hey, maybe that will come after the Pluto flyby..
For the project people, their job was known as a pioneer-to-retiree project.
they started as junior staff when this project was first mooted year ago and by the time the probe completes its Pluto flyby and subsequent KBO flyby , they would have been close to retiring...
In fact, for all of us living today, this is the last chance for us to see a close up photo of Pluto within our lifetime. if the project fails or they miss the coming launch window, the arrival to Pluto will be delayed by years and by then , the thin atmosphere would have frozen.
what does irk me is there is no attempt to include an orbiter in the package. at least we will be able to study the atmosphere as it freezes itself out.
also, some anti-nucleat group was protesting the use of Plutonium for this project. they are blind as to what cassini is opening up to us. they failed to realise that nuclear energy is presently the ONLY form of power for any deep space probe....beyond Jupiter, solar panels would have been useless...sigh
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United Federation of the Planets
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United Federation of the Planets
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starfinder
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Hey Airconvent, you seem to know quite a lot about this mission! I recall a few years back reading about a forthcoming mission to the last planet yet to be visited, then only saw it again on the CNN news website the other day. Finally, Earthlings will know how Pluto really looks like, if all goes to plan, a big "if".
As of now, Tuesday 9.45pm S'pore time, New Horizons is still set for launch as scheduled, which is just over 4 1/2 hours from now at 2:24 am on Wednesday, S'pore time.
Hope to watch the launch!
Here are the latest images from the launch pad from the last 15 mins:
(PS: Hope I'm not taking too much file space, but I've compressed it into .jpeg format)
As of now, Tuesday 9.45pm S'pore time, New Horizons is still set for launch as scheduled, which is just over 4 1/2 hours from now at 2:24 am on Wednesday, S'pore time.
Hope to watch the launch!
Here are the latest images from the launch pad from the last 15 mins:
(PS: Hope I'm not taking too much file space, but I've compressed it into .jpeg format)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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starfinder
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Hey, I've just discovered this webpage about looking out for New Horizons in the sky tonight.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/groundtrack/index.php
From the groundtrack map, it looks like the launch rocket / New Horizons will orbit somewhere south of Sumatra and Java, and therefore should be visible from Singapore, twice.
I think we'll have to look out in the south, though it's very cloudy now.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/groundtrack/index.php
From the groundtrack map, it looks like the launch rocket / New Horizons will orbit somewhere south of Sumatra and Java, and therefore should be visible from Singapore, twice.
I think we'll have to look out in the south, though it's very cloudy now.
Pluto probe launch postphoned until further notice... 
Was optimistic throughout the whole episode until just 1.20 mins before the blast off, NASA decided that the ground winds far exceeded the limits and called off the mission. :x Damn..the numbers on the blue screen suddenly disappeared and at about 4.30am, they finally announced that the launch has been scrubbed. Disappointing... Anyway, enough said..Time to catch up on my sleep...
Signing off,
- ALPiNe
Was optimistic throughout the whole episode until just 1.20 mins before the blast off, NASA decided that the ground winds far exceeded the limits and called off the mission. :x Damn..the numbers on the blue screen suddenly disappeared and at about 4.30am, they finally announced that the launch has been scrubbed. Disappointing... Anyway, enough said..Time to catch up on my sleep...Signing off,
- ALPiNe
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starfinder
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Ya, me too lost quite a bit of sleep. Woke up at 2.15am to catch the launch and watched CNN and the web for next 2.5 hrs. They kept delaying it for "20 mins". CNN was covering it 'live'. In the end it was scrubbed and postponed for a day.
So, another attempt is scheduled for late tonight, i.e. early Thursday morning at 2.16am S'pore time. Hope to try to watch it again.
Am not sure if we can really spot it in the sky from S'pore, as stated in the link posted above. It does not state the magnitude there. (BTW: Singapore is one of the listed cities).
Here is an extract from CNN.com:
"NASA officials scrubbed the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft Tuesday because of strong winds. They will try again Wednesday at 1:16 p.m. ET.
New Horizons was scheduled to lift off atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket at 1:24 p.m. ET on Tuesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin a 10-year, 3-billion-mile mission to Pluto.
Upper-level winds exceeding 33 knots pushed back the launch numerous times. Tuesday's launch window ran from 1:24 p.m. ET to 3:23 p.m. ET.
Wednesday's launch window runs from 1:16 p.m. ET to 3:15 p.m. ET.
NASA has until February 14 to launch the probe.
So, another attempt is scheduled for late tonight, i.e. early Thursday morning at 2.16am S'pore time. Hope to try to watch it again.
Am not sure if we can really spot it in the sky from S'pore, as stated in the link posted above. It does not state the magnitude there. (BTW: Singapore is one of the listed cities).
Here is an extract from CNN.com:
"NASA officials scrubbed the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft Tuesday because of strong winds. They will try again Wednesday at 1:16 p.m. ET.
New Horizons was scheduled to lift off atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket at 1:24 p.m. ET on Tuesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin a 10-year, 3-billion-mile mission to Pluto.
Upper-level winds exceeding 33 knots pushed back the launch numerous times. Tuesday's launch window ran from 1:24 p.m. ET to 3:23 p.m. ET.
Wednesday's launch window runs from 1:16 p.m. ET to 3:15 p.m. ET.
NASA has until February 14 to launch the probe.
Latest updates:
The planned launch later this Thursday morning has been scrubbed again and postphoned to tomorrow, Jan 19 2006 13:08:00 EST, instead. Was browsing through their website a couple of minutes ago when I noticed that the L-Time set was pushed back a day later. Their countdown in the main website wasn't updated until about 1.41am when NASA finally decided to make the actual postphoning. Seems like they are having a little 'technical difficulty' over there. :roll: As for the reason for the postphoning, they claimed that it was due to a major power outage in Maryland-including the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) where the critical Mission Operations Center is located (updated a few moments ago in their website). Hmm..I guess that means an early night for me...
Signing off,
- ALPiNe
The planned launch later this Thursday morning has been scrubbed again and postphoned to tomorrow, Jan 19 2006 13:08:00 EST, instead.
Was browsing through their website a couple of minutes ago when I noticed that the L-Time set was pushed back a day later. Their countdown in the main website wasn't updated until about 1.41am when NASA finally decided to make the actual postphoning. Seems like they are having a little 'technical difficulty' over there. :roll: As for the reason for the postphoning, they claimed that it was due to a major power outage in Maryland-including the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) where the critical Mission Operations Center is located (updated a few moments ago in their website). Hmm..I guess that means an early night for me... Signing off,
- ALPiNe
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starfinder
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Finally! The New Horizons probe to Pluto has been launched.
I've just watched its lift-off about 10 minutes ago at exactly 3am S'pore time on Fri 20 Jan 2006. There was about a 45 min delay today due to clouds.
Too bad it's too cloudy in S'pore now, so I guess I won't be able to spot it in the south later. Wasted some sleep in the past 2 nights when the launch was scrubbed twice.
I've just watched its lift-off about 10 minutes ago at exactly 3am S'pore time on Fri 20 Jan 2006. There was about a 45 min delay today due to clouds.
Too bad it's too cloudy in S'pore now, so I guess I won't be able to spot it in the south later. Wasted some sleep in the past 2 nights when the launch was scrubbed twice.