I think the protesters secretly wish for a launch failure so they could say "See, I told you so."

Not only that -- I love the spin that says "hey, we're just sending the plutonium where it belongs, to Pluto!"

-- Emily

(P.S. Thanks TTT )

The running joke had been the protestors should be grateful because NH is sending plutonium back to Pluto.

When do they acquire the spacecraft signal?

Here's what Pioneer 10 looked like when it passed the Moon in March of 1972 in just 11 hours.

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/EP-177/ch1-1.html

Just one artistic license - the Moon wasn't anywhere near the probe at the time.

Hmmm.... no Lipovitan-D visible

Lyford:

I think the NH PI might be hust a leetle teensy bit, er, busy at the moment. Still, you never know: best wishes, Alan and the NH team, and thanks to the Atlas team (and all the rest), too!

Bob Shaw

Just don't let OSHA see that!

BTW, what does END MSN SPPT mean? Because it just ended....

PS - I hope my Alan comment is understood to be silly - though I would hope he considers us extended family

Yeah, that one is cool.

BTW, Emily, where did TPS get the TV monitor? I thought you all would have a cool flat-screen plasma monitor or something like that

I'm a longtime lurker - at last perhaps with something to contribute. After viewing the launch on CNN here in Thailand I went up on the roof to watch for the Star 48B around 2:30-3:00 local (GMT 19:30-20:00) . At about the right time and place I did see something, but I am a bit confused because I have never seen a spacecraft depart the Earth before. Maybe someone can help me understand why it should have looked like a patch of bright haze. I would have expected a point of light from the engine burn, and then once clearing the earth's shadow, maybe a much fainter point source. The star background was clear and sharp so neither clouds nor dirty binoculars were a factor. Does the vehicle travelling through a vacuum carry a cloud of exhaust gas along with it? I recall reading that the gas vented by Apollo 13 in the vicinity of the moon was visible by telescope as a hazy patch. Problem is that the patch I saw wasn't elongated in the direction of motion, at least not that I could observe. Still, I can't think what else it could have been. It climbed from the SW horizon and became fainter as it rose higher in the sky then faded out so I could no longer track it. Goodbye, New Horizons - hope I'm around to observe your photos when they come through!

This site might help: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/groundtrack/index.php

It would be nice. But when we get practically all of our money $30 at a time from one member or another (thanks all of you on UMSF who contribute to my paycheck! ), we can't really afford the 42-inch plasma...

It's a different story at home

--Emily

Here is the ground track of New Horizons from Spaceflight Now:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av010/...roundtrack.html


--Bill

Don't forget the Boeing labor union that wanted the launch to be delayed because the 6 non-striking technicians working on the third stage were deemed "unqualified"...

NASA should feel quite vindicated today.

Post Launch Press beginning now !

Well that was fun, I got it all recorded on my DVR., the telemetry sim look erroneous some of the time with the rocket pointing almost strait down back at earth, but I guess that was just because someone was giving us a bad viewing angle.

No news yet from the anti-nuke nuts, I wonder if they will even acknowledge the launch was a success.

Yay, I missed it!

Then catch the Press conference it's on now.

BTW Alan has fantastic screen presence - he should do more press conferences.

I just love the comment about scientific text books.

I wonder when the New Horizons website will have that "Where's the spacecraft now?" page posted up. I like those charts

Quite - very like a pack of noisy children asking Why? Why? Why?

Anyway as one of the noisy children I am definitely in awe of Alan, John and the entire team and very much appreciate the time and effort they put aside to provide answers and updates to us.

The launch video is now archived on the NASA site for those who missed the festivities

About this bit from the official NASA press release on the NH launch:

"Today, NASA began an unprecedented journey of exploration to the
ninth planet in the solar system," says Dr. Colleen Hartman, Deputy
Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington, D.C.

"Right now, what we know about Pluto could be written on the back of
a postage stamp. After this mission, we'll be able to fill textbooks with
new information."

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhoriz...main/index.html

A postage stamp? I know we won't know nearly as much about Pluto until 2015, but I think that is a bit of an exaggeration - unless the stamp is very large and we all write the info very tiny.

Speaking of stamps, note this commemoration of NH from St. Vincent:

http://www.espacelollini.com/intro/livredo...cent/serie1.php

And remember this one from the USA's planetary probe exploration series?

http://www.space.com/images/pluto_stamp_03.jpg

They'll have to change its caption in nine years. Wonder what a first-class stamp will cost then?

Absolutely thrilling launch. It was very fast, Delta 2 but bigger.

I had the privelege of watching from atop the Shuttle Launch Control Center (LCC), which has a great clear view of the pad.

Will post photos later.

Looking forward to your photos.

On the subject of fast launches, what is the launch that is quickest accelerating in the first 30 seconds or so of flight when the sense of motion is most visible for the observer on the ground?

Subjectively, going by launch videos (which may not do justice to sense of speed vs. seeing the launch live), the quickest I have seen was the Delta 2 Heavy carrying Spitzer IR observatory.

I guess someone needs to dump a stack of Pluto-related papers on Hartman's desk, starting with the three articles in the January 5, 2006, issue of Nature. I'd like to see her fit those "on the back of a postage stamp."

Frankly, Hartman's comments are typical hyperbole from a NASA HQ "hubcap," similar to Ed Weiler's pre-MER EDL comments about Mars being a "death planet."

I'm just curious how many UMSF people here are also members of The Planetary Society, besides myself and, obviously, Emily? Anyone in this thread? Personally, I feel fortunate to be in both, with so much happening these days (is Carl watching I wonder...?). I'd also like to offer more volunteer assistance with TPS here in Canada, I just have a lot on the plate right now with other projects, but later this spring or summer might be better for me. In the meantime, just enjoying all the missions and developments, which are now a continuous marvel! Between the Stardust press briefing and the New Horizons launch, a good day today.

Great blog btw, Emily, and the new web site for TPS, looking good!

You got it about right, Spitzer was the fastest in my time (exceeded by the couple of Athena's they launched, but I won't count those). I thought MESSENGER looked faster in person, but weight numbers say Spitzer should have had the edge in reality. My memory of Spitzer was probably just a bit off.

Today's was like a Delta 2 with nine solids (not Heavy though).

Well it's been about 8.5hrs since launch. Passing the Moon soon I assume?

Heck of a thread, guys -- heck of a thread.

I got home a little while ago, put on my cable box's DVR and watched the launch. Then I read the thread while watching the later launch phases and the replays.

MAN, that thing leapt off the pad, didn't it? The pad base cameras were astounding views -- that sucker just shivered, spewed fire and shot away, leaving a billowing column of orange-gray-black smoke. Magnificent!

The little poke through the two low clouds was fun right at the beginning, too. I love watching big rockets flying through clouds.

The SRB sep was just gorgeous -- all in all, the tracking was superb. (It ought to be, NASA paid some really big money to upgrade it all after Columbia, so they could track Shuttle launches with keen enough resolution to see what happens to the vehicle if foam rips off.) The view of the payload fairing sep was outstanding, as well -- in fact, I didn't feel at all cheated on this one by the lack of rocketcams. The tracking cameras were that good.

It was good to re-live the day with all of you through this thread, guys. Makes it more special.

-the other Doug

Now, I don't have any actual access to any real orbits or state vectors of New Horizons. This is an approximation done with Orbiter, from orbitersim.com. But, this approximate course does leave the Earth on time and arrive at Pluto on time. So, on with the numbers!

New Horizons made its closest approach to the Moon on 20 Jan 2006 03:35:36 UTC. At this point, it was 185482km from the surface of the Moon. This compares with 403100km for the distance from the center of the Earth to the center of the Moon.

New Horizons became farther from the Earth than the Moon on 20 Jan 2006 04:23:09 UTC. This represents a travel time from sitting on the ground in Florida of 9 hours 23 minutes. Or, about 8 hours 40 minutes from spacecraft separation.

We therefore see that New Horizons actually does get fairly close to the Moon, in fact quite a bit closer than you or me ever do. But, if it had launched something like 2 or 3 days later, it would have gotten very close to the Moon indeed. I wonder if there is a hole in the launch window, where it's too close to the Moon, such that the Moon's gravity would drag it too far off course?

Here are simulations of the pictures we wish NH could take, but can't.
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Video of the launch.
It uses the XviD codec with LAME MP3 audio.

This particular file is under 4MB, and measures 310x214 pixels. 40seconds long. I have no idea what the strain might be on my server, hence my caution before posting a bigger file.

I do have the full launch sequence as broadcast by CNN, in higher resolution XviD, clocking in at nearly 4.5minutes and 80MB. If anyone wants to stick it on Bit-torrent, e-mail me or send me a message with the forum's messaging system, and I can get the file to you. I'm behind a University firewall, and I'd rather not try to do anything that'd get me kicked off of it.

For some reason, the video of the launch was the "Moment of Zen" on the Daily Show tonight....

Alan can rest assured that whatever contributions to science this mission makes, his spacecraft was featured on one of the hottest shows in the 18-25 demographic.

Come to think of it, they did a bit about the MERs lasting a Martian year, a little while back. Something about how we shouldn't have sent two of them, since now they are breeding a robot super race on Mars!

Which video? Mine? I just tried mine...all I get is Liftoff of NASA's New Horizon Spacecraft....

Sorry, I meant that the NASA TV feed (I think) was shown as the Moment of Zen...

Though I downloaded your avi file and that Atlas sure goes up fast!

Me - and I think Nix is as well

Doug

I was a member at its inception (#1817) but dropped off in '94 while going thru some unrelated issues. Their work has been and continues to be very good for promoting interest in space exploration. The "Planetfest" conventions during the Voyager flybys were some of most educational and enjoyable events I attended in the '80's.

I have just recently joined The Planetary Society.

I'm a lapsed member from the 90's. I was also a member of the National Space Society back then, and they tended to send out snail-mail donation requests way too often. It seemed like I was getting an "urgent message from Buzz Aldrin" in the mail every other week. The nagging really turned me off to the NSS, and I'm afraid that my membership to TPS, which didn't spam nearly as much, suffered collateral damage.

I am thinking about re-upping, though, thanks to all the great work Emily and her cohorts are doing online. They will be right behind UMSF when the donation budget comes 'round again!

Is a transcript of Alan Stern's press conference from yesterday available online somewhere? Thank you.

Speaking of Pluto and Plutonium, check out this photograph:

http://imglib.lbl.gov/cgi-bin/ImgLib/credi.../.tags/96B05586

Emily has put up a transcript on the Planetary Society Blog.

NH Post Launch Press conference

Thank you, Emily, for doing this, and thank you, Helvick, for the pointer.

One comment from the press conference, quoting Alan Stern here:

"It will be the 50th anniversary to the day of the Mariner 4 flyby of Mars, the flyby that opened the reconnaissance of planets beyond Earth."

Technically, one should say that it was Mariner 2's successful flyby of Venus in December of 1962 that truly began "the reconnaisance of planets beyond Earth."

I presume just because Mariner 2 did not take any photographs of the planet does not preclude its achievements? Mariner 5 also did not image Venus in 1967, but it helped to confirm Mariner 2's findings of Venus' incredibly hot surface.

Of course there were successful lunar and interplanetary probes before the Mariners (Pioneer 5 in 1960) and one should remember the probes such as the Soviets' Venera 1, which flew by Venus in 1961 but lost contact with Earth before reaching that world. But Mariner 2 should really get the first credit.

http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/artifa...SS-mariner2.htm

I'm guessing that what Alan meant was that Mariner 4 opened up the close-up photographic reconnaissance of the Solar System, which of course is all the press really cares about; Mariner 2 was particles-and-fields only, plus a radio occultation experiment if I'm not mistaken.

Me too...since 1997!

And me... since 1989!

Does anyone know if there is a "where is NH now" link on the Nasa site?

I saw this quote from the PS weblog and thought it was pretty cool:

"I have July 14, 2015 emblazoned on my calendar.... It will be the 50th anniversary to the day of the Mariner 4 flyby of Mars, the flyby that opened the reconnaissance of planets beyond Earth."

Almost smells like "destiny". Is there any active effort to find secondary targets for NH, or is serendipity the modis operandi? Does pluto's funky inclination make it tricky to find other flybys?

Wow; between the daily feeds of MER and Cassini, along with all the other groundbreaking missions like stardust and messenger and hayabusa and NH and... seems like we are just riding a new crest of a wave of space exploration! Sends a shiver down my spine to think about. Yee-haw!

Now, how to we get Dawn off the ground?

You can check out my launch photos on SpaceflightNow in this gallery now:


http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av010/...launch2/01.html



I will post all plus pre launch photos to my website, probably later tonight (and I see the rollout photos were already shared :-)

Thank you for those wonderfull photos, but what happened to hi-resolution version?
Are they going to be posted somewhere, or maybe they do not exist?

Oh yea... Today was suppose to be the day DAWN's fate was decided...



I was a member from around '92 to '94... I re-joined The Planetary Society last night