Citizendia

For other uses, see New Horizons (disambiguation).
New Horizons
New Horizons
OrganizationNASA
Major contractorsJHU APL, SwRI
Mission typeFlyby
Flyby ofJupiter, Pluto, and Charon
Flyby dateJuly 14, 2015
Launch dateJanuary 19, 2006
Launch vehicleAtlas V-551
Mission durationFlyby of Pluto (>10 yr)
NSSDC ID2006-001A
WebpageNew Horizons Home
Mass478 kg
Orbital elements
InclinationCurrently negligible (2006)
New Horizons on the launchpad
New Horizons on the launchpad

New Horizons is a robotic spacecraft mission by NASA currently underway. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL located in Laurel Maryland, is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center employing Southwest Research Institute ( SwRI) headquartered in San Antonio Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent Nonprofit, applied Research Charon (ˈʃærən; also, as in Χάρων) discovered in 1978 is either the largest Moon of Pluto or the smaller member of a double Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. 2015 ( MMXV) will be a Common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Atlas V Rocket is an Expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin- Boeing joint venture The International Designator (or NSSDC ID) is an international naming convention for Satellites It consists of the launch year a 3-digit incrementing launch number The elements of an orbit are the parameters needed to specify that Orbit uniquely given a model of two point-masses obeying the Newtonian laws of motion and the Inclination in general is the Angle between a Reference plane and another plane or axis of direction Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A robotic spacecraft is a Spacecraft with no humans on board that is usually under Telerobotic control The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra. A spacecraft is a Vehicle or machine designed for Spaceflight. A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a Celestial body Orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be rounded Charon (ˈʃærən; also, as in Χάρων) discovered in 1978 is either the largest Moon of Pluto or the smaller member of a double Nix (ˈnɪks, or as in Greek Νιξ is a Natural satellite of Pluto. Hydra (ˈhaɪdrə, or as in Greek Ύδρα is the outer-most Natural satellite of Pluto. NASA may also approve flybys of one or more other Kuiper Belt Objects. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending

New Horizons was launched on January 19, 2006 directly into an Earth- and solar-escape trajectory. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It had an Earth-relative velocity of about 16. 21 km/s (36,260 mph) after its last engine shut down, making it the fastest spacecraft launched to date. It flew by Jupiter on 28 February 2007 at 5:43:40 UTC and Saturn's orbit on 8 June 2008 at 10:00:00 UTC. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common It will arrive at Pluto on 14 July 2015 then continue into the Kuiper belt. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. 2015 ( MMXV) will be a Common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending

Contents

Background

New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers mission category, larger and more expensive than Discovery missions but smaller than "flagship" programs. NASA 's New Frontiers program is a series of medium-cost (not to exceed 700 million USD highly focused scientific space missions NASA 's Discovery Program is a series of lower-cost highly focused scientific space missions The cost of the mission (including spacecraft and instrument development, launch vehicle, mission operations, data analysis, and education/public outreach) is approximately $650 million over 15 years (from 2001 to 2016). An earlier proposed Pluto mission – Pluto Kuiper Express – was cancelled by NASA in 2000 for budgetary reasons. The Pluto Kuiper Express mission was a space mission designed to fly by the Pluto - Charon system and at least one large object in the Kuiper belt beyond

The New Horizons craft was built primarily by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Southwest Research Institute ( SwRI) headquartered in San Antonio Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent Nonprofit, applied Research The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL located in Laurel Maryland, is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center employing The mission's principal investigator is Dr. S. Alan Stern (NASA Associate Administrator, formerly of the Southwest Research Institute). A principal investigator ( PI) is the lead Scientist for a particular well-defined science (or other academic project such as an astronomical observing S Alan Stern is an American planetary scientist, born 22 November 1957 New Orleans Louisiana married (three children

Overall control, after separation from the launch vehicle, is performed at Mission Operations Center (MOC) at the Applied Physics Laboratory. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL located in Laurel Maryland, is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center employing The science instruments are operated at the Clyde Tombaugh Science Operations Center (T-SOC) in Boulder, Colorado. Navigation, which is not realtime, is performed at various contractor facilities; KinetX is the lead on the New Horizons' navigation team and is responsible for planning trajectory adjustments as the spacecraft speeds toward the outer solar system. KinetX, Inc is a privately held Tempe, Arizona based engineering technology software development and business consulting firm specializing in aerospace systems

New Horizons was originally planned as a voyage to what was then the only unexplored planet in the Solar System. When the spacecraft was launched, Pluto was still classified as a planet, later to be reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is However, some members of the New Horizons team, including Alan Stern, disagree with the IAU definition and therefore still describe Pluto as the ninth planet. Pluto's newly discovered satellites, Nix and Hydra, also have a connection with the spacecraft. Nix (ˈnɪks, or as in Greek Νιξ is a Natural satellite of Pluto. Hydra (ˈhaɪdrə, or as in Greek Ύδρα is the outer-most Natural satellite of Pluto. The first letters of their names, N and H, are the initials of New Horizons. The moons' discoverers chose these names for this reason, in addition to Nix and Hydra's relationship to the mythological Pluto. Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld known in Latin as Tertius the counterpart of the Greek Hades.

In addition to the scientific equipment, there are several cultural artifacts travelling with the spacecraft. These include a collection of 430,000 names stored on a compact disc,[1] a piece of Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne,[2] and an American flag, along with other mementos. SpaceShipOne is a Spaceplane that completed the first privately funded Human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. Flags of the United States The Flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of Red (top and bottom alternating One of the trim weights on the spacecraft is a Florida state quarter, and principal investigator Alan Stern has also confirmed that some of the ashes of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh are aboard the spacecraft. The 50 State Quarters program ( is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. S Alan Stern is an American planetary scientist, born 22 November 1957 New Orleans Louisiana married (three children Clyde William Tombaugh ( February 4, 1906 &ndash January 17, 1997) was an American Astronomer. [3]

Mission profile

Launch

New Horizons at liftoff
New Horizons at liftoff
Launch Complex 41 during New Horizons launch
Launch Complex 41 during New Horizons launch

The launch of New Horizons was originally scheduled for January 11, 2006, but was initially delayed until January 17 to allow for borescope inspections of the Atlas rocket's kerosene tank. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca BorescopeApplicationpng|thumb|250px|right|Borescope in use with example of what you might see through the borescope Atlas is a family of US space Launch vehicles The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Further delays related to low cloud ceiling conditions downrange, high winds and technical difficulties unrelated to the rocket itself prevented launch for a further two days. Downrange is the horizontal distance traveled by a Spacecraft, or the spacecraft's horizontal distance from the launch site. The probe finally lifted off from Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, directly south of Space Shuttle Launch Complex 39, at 14:00 EST on January 19, 2006. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41 ( LC-41) is an active Launch Site at Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS is a detachment of the 45th Space Wing (45 SW Patrick AFB provides headquarters functions from the 45 SW a major airfield Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States Launch Complex 39 (LC-39 is a Rocket launch site at the John F Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

The Centaur second stage reignited at 14:30 EST (19:30 UTC), successfully sending the probe out of Earth orbit. Centaur is a Rocket stage designed for use as the upper stage of space Launch vehicles Centaur boosts its Satellite payload to its final Orbit New Horizons took only nine hours to reach the Moon's orbit, passing lunar orbit before midnight EST that day.

Although there were backup launch opportunities in February 2006 and February 2007, only the first 23 days of the 2006 window permitted the Jupiter flyby. Any launch outside that period would have forced the spacecraft to fly a slower trajectory directly to Pluto, delaying its encounter by 2–4 years.

The craft was launched by a Lockheed Martin Atlas V 551 rocket, with a Boeing Star 48B third stage added to increase the heliocentric (escape) speed. Lockheed Martin ( is a large multinational Aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology Company formed in 1995 by the merger of The Atlas V Rocket is an Expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin- Boeing joint venture The Boeing Company is a major Aerospace and defense corporation originally founded by William E The Star 48 is a type of solid rocket motor used by both the Space Shuttle and the New Horizons probe This was the first launch of the 551 configuration of the Atlas V. Previous flights had used none, two, or three solid boosters, but never five. Solid rocket boosters (SRB (or motors SRM are used to provide the main Thrust in spacecraft launches from the launchpad up to burnout of the SRBs This puts the Atlas V 551 takeoff thrust, at well over 2 million pounds (9 MN), past the Delta IV-Heavy, of under 2 million lbf. This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical The Delta IV is a family of Delta Rockets designed by Boeing 's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in United Launch Alliance's This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. The major part of this thrust is supplied by two Russian RD-180 engines, 4. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The RD-180 is a dual- Combustion chamber, dual Nozzle, Russian developed Rocket engine, derived from the RD-170 used in Zenit rockets 152 MN each. The Delta IVH remains the larger vehicle, at over 1,600,000 lb (725 Mg) versus AV-010's 1,260,000 lb (570 Mg). The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. The Atlas V rocket had earlier been slightly damaged when Hurricane Wilma swept across Florida on October 24, 2005. Hurricane Wilma was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. One of the solid rocket boosters was hit by a door. The booster was replaced with an identical unit, rather than inspecting and requalifying the original. [4]

The Star 48B third stage is also on a hyperbolic solar system escape orbit, and will beat the New Horizons spacecraft to Jupiter. So will two small despin masses, the "yo-yo masses," released from the stage. A yo-yo de-spin mechanism is a device used to reduce the spin of satellite typically right after launch However, since they will not be in controlled flight, they will not receive the correct gravity assist, and will only pass within 200 million miles (320 million km) of Pluto. [5]

New Horizons holds the record as the fastest spacecraft ever launched, having achieved the highest Earth-relative velocity and thus leaving Earth faster than any other spacecraft to date. It is also the first spacecraft launched directly into a solar escape trajectory, which requires a velocity of 16. 5 km/s approx. , plus losses, all to be provided by the launcher. However, it will not be the fastest spacecraft to leave the solar system. This record is held by Voyager 1, currently travelling at 17. The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram robotic Space probe of the outer Solar system and beyond launched September 5, 145 km/s (38,350 mph) relative to the Sun. Voyager 1 attained greater hyperbolic excess velocity from Jupiter and Saturn gravitational slingshots than New Horizons. In Astrodynamics or Celestial mechanics a hyperbolic trajectory is a Kepler orbit with the eccentricity greater than 1 In Orbital mechanics and Aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and Other spacecraft, such as Helios 1 & 2, can also be measured as the "fastest" objects, due to their orbital velocity relative to the Sun at perihelion. The Helios deep Space probes were launched in the mid 1970s by the Federal Republic of Germany and NASA, using US Air Force launch vehicles In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from However, because they remain in solar orbit, their orbital energy relative to the Sun is lower than the five probes (and three other third stages on hyperbolic trajectories), including New Horizons, that achieved solar escape velocity. In Astrodynamics the specific Orbital energy \epsilon\\! (or vis-viva energy) of an Orbiting body traveling through Space (The Sun has a far more massive gravity well than Earth. In Physics, a gravity well is the Gravitational potential field around a massive body (a particular kind of Potential well) )

Trajectory corrections and instrument testing

On January 28 and January 30, 2006, mission controllers guided the probe through its first trajectory correction maneuver (TCM), which was divided into two parts called TCM-1A and TCM-1B. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The total velocity change of these two corrections was about 18 meters per second. TCM-1 was accurate enough to permit the cancellation of TCM-2, the second of three originally scheduled corrections. [6]

During the week of February 20, controllers conducted initial in-flight tests of three onboard scientific instruments, the Alice ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, the PEPSSI plasma-sensor, and the LORRI long-range visible-spectrum camera. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment No scientific measurements or images were taken, but instrument electronics (and in the case of Alice, some electromechanical systems) were shown to be functioning correctly. [7]

On March 9 at 1700 UTC, controllers performed TCM-3, the last of three scheduled course corrections. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. The engines burned for 76 seconds, adjusting the spacecraft's velocity by about 1. 16 meters per second. [8]

Passing Mars orbit and asteroid flyby

On April 7, 2006 at 10:00 UTC, the spacecraft passed the orbit of Mars, moving at roughly 21 km/s away from the Sun at a solar distance of 243 million kilometers. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. [9]

New Horizons made a distant flyby of the small asteroid 132524 APL (previously known by its provisional designation, 2002 JF56), at a distance of 101,867 km at 04:05 UTC on June 13, 2006. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The best current estimate of the asteroid's diameter is approximately 2. 3 kilometers, and the spectra obtained by New Horizons showed that APL is an S-type asteroid. S-type asteroids are of a silicaceous ( stony) composition hence the name

The spacecraft successfully tracked the asteroid over June 10 – June 12, 2006. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This allowed the mission team to test the spacecraft's ability to track rapidly moving objects. Images were obtained through the Ralph telescope. [10]

Jupiter gravity assist

New Horizons at periapsis with Jupiter on February 28, 2007
New Horizons at periapsis with Jupiter on February 28, 2007

New Horizons' LORRI imager took its first photographs of Jupiter on September 4, 2006. In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The spacecraft began further study of the Jovian system in December 2006. [11]

New Horizons received a Jupiter gravity assist with a closest approach at 5:43:40 UTC (12:43:40am EST) on February 28, 2007. In Orbital mechanics and Aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. It passed through the Jupiter system at 21 km/s (46,975 mph) relative to Jupiter (23 km/s (51,449 mph) relative to the Sun). New Horizons was the first probe launched directly towards Jupiter since the Ulysses probe in 1990. Ulysses is a robotic Space probe designed to study the Sun at all latitudes

The flyby increased New Horizons' speed away from the Sun by nearly 4 km/s (8,947 mph), putting the spacecraft on a faster trajectory to Pluto, about 2. 5 degrees out of the plane of the Earth's orbit (the "ecliptic"). The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun traces out in the sky during the year

While at Jupiter, New Horizon's instruments made refined measurements of the orbits of Jupiter's inner moons, particularly Amalthea. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Amalthea (, or as in Greek Αμάλθεια The probe's cameras measured volcanoes on Io and studied all four Galilean moons in detail, as well as long distance studies of the outer moons Himalia and Elara. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Io (ˈaɪoʊ, or as Greek TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Himalia (, or as in Greek ‘Ιμαλíα TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Elara (, or as in Greek Ελάρα Imaging of the Jovian system began on September 4, 2006. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. [12] The craft also studied Jupiter's Little Red Spot and the planet's magnetosphere and tenuous ring system. [13]

Pluto approach

First Pluto sighting from New Horizons (September 21-24, 2006)
First Pluto sighting from New Horizons (September 21-24, 2006)

The first images of Pluto from New Horizons were created between September 21–24, 2006, during a test of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI). They were released on November 28. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events [14] The images, taken from a distance of approximately 4. 2 billion kilometers (2. 6 billion miles), confirmed the spacecraft's ability to track distant targets, critical for maneuvering toward Pluto and other Kuiper Belt objects.

It is planned for New Horizons to fly within 10,000 km (6,200 mi) of Pluto. New Horizons will have a relative velocity of 13. 78 km/s at closest approach, and will come as close as 27,000 km (16,800 mi) to Charon, although these parameters may be changed during flight. Charon (ˈʃærən; also, as in Χάρων) discovered in 1978 is either the largest Moon of Pluto or the smaller member of a double

Kuiper Belt mission

After passing by Pluto, New Horizons will continue further into the Kuiper Belt. Mission planners are now searching for one or more additional Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) on the order of 50–100 km (30–60 mi) in diameter for flybys similar to the spacecraft's Plutonian encounter. As maneuvering capability is limited, this phase of the mission is contingent on finding suitable KBOs close to New Horizons' flight path, ruling out any possibility for a planned flyby of Eris, a trans-Neptunian object larger than Pluto. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO is any object in the Solar system that Orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. [15] The available region, being fairly close to the plane of the Milky Way and thus difficult to survey for dim objects, is one that has not been well-covered by previous KBO search efforts.

Summary of key mission dates

Already accomplished

Position of New Horizons (as of May 12, 2008)
Position of New Horizons (as of May 12, 2008)

Planned

Spacecraft subsystems

Structural overview

The spacecraft is comparable in size and general shape to a grand piano and has been compared to a "piano glued to a sports-car-sized satellite dish". As a point of departure, the team took inspiration from the Ulysses spacecraft[1], which also carried an RTG and dish on a box-in-box structure through the outer Solar System. Ulysses is a robotic Space probe designed to study the Sun at all latitudes Many subsystems and components have flight heritage from APL's CONTOUR spacecraft, which in turn had heritage from APL's TIMED spacecraft. The CO met N ucleus TOUR ( CONTOUR) was a NASA Discovery-class Space probe that failed shortly after launch The TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics mission was a two year project to study the dynamics of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere

Structural

The spacecraft's body forms a triangle, almost 2. 5 feet (0. 75 m) thick. (The Pioneers had hexagonal 6-sided bodies, while the Voyagers, Galileo, and Cassini-Huygens had decagonal 10-sided, hollow bodies. See also Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyager program consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes Voyager 1 and Galileo was an Unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the Planet Jupiter and its moons Named after the Astronomer Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA / ESA / ASI Robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its ) A 7075 (alloy) aluminium tube forms the main structural column, between the launch vehicle adapter ring at the "rear," and the 2. An alloy is a Solid solution or Homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a Metal, which itself has WikipediaNaming 1 m radio dish antenna affixed to the "front" flat side. The parabolic antenna is a high-gain reflector antenna used for radio television and data communications and also for radiolocation ( RADAR) on the UHF and The titanium fuel tank is in this tube. Titanium (taɪˈteɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ti and Atomic number 22 The Radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or RTG attaches with a 4-sided titanium mount resembling a grey pyramid or stepstool. A radioisotope thermoelectric generator ( RTG, RITEG) is an Electrical generator which obtains its power from Radioactive decay. Titanium provides strength and thermal isolation. The rest of the triangle is primarily sandwich panels of thin aluminium facesheet (less than 1/64" or 0. WikipediaNaming 4 mm) bonded to aluminium honeycomb core.

New Horizons in its assembly hall.
New Horizons in its assembly hall.

The structure is larger than strictly necessary, with empty space inside. The structure is designed to act as shielding, reducing electronics errors caused by radiation from the RTG. Also, the mass distribution required for a spinning spacecraft demands a wider triangle.

Propulsion and attitude control

New Horizons has both spin-stabilized (cruise) and three-axis stabilized (science) modes, controlled entirely with hydrazine monopropellant. Hydrazine is a Chemical compound with the formula N2H4 It has an Ammonia -like odor and is derived from the same industrial chemistry A Monopropellant rocket (or " monoprop rocket " is a Rocket that uses a single chemical as its power source and propellant Seventy-seven kilograms of hydrazine provides a delta-v capability of over 290 m/s after launch. In Astrodynamics, the term delta-v, literally "change in velocity" (see symbol delta) has a specific meaning it is a Scalar which takes Helium is used as a pressurant, with an elastomeric diaphragm assisting expulsion. An elastomer is a Polymer with the property of Elasticity. The term which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term The spacecraft's on-orbit mass including fuel will be over 470 kg for a Jupiter flyby trajectory, but would have been only 445 kg for a direct flight to Pluto. This would have meant less fuel for later Kuiper Belt operations and is caused by the launch vehicle performance limitations for a direct-to-Pluto flight.

There are 16 thrusters on New Horizons: four 1 lbf (4. A Monopropellant rocket (or " monoprop rocket " is a Rocket that uses a single chemical as its power source and propellant This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. 4 N) and twelve 0. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical 2 lbf (0. This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. 9 N) plumbed into redundant branches. The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical The larger thrusters are used primarily for trajectory corrections, and the small ones (previously used on Cassini and the Voyager spacecraft) are used primarily for attitude control and spinup/spindown maneuvers. Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA / ESA / ASI Robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its See also Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyager program consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes Voyager 1 and The attitude of a body is its orientation as perceived in a certain Frame of reference; providing a vector along which a spacecraft is pointing is a description of its attitude Two star cameras (from Galileo Avionica) are used for fine attitude control. They are mounted on the face of the spacecraft and provide attitude information while in spinning or in 3-axis mode. Between star camera readings, knowledge is provided by dual redundant Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU) from Honeywell. Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU is an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU developed and built by Honeywell International to control and stabilize Honeywell ( is a major American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products engineering services and aerospace systems Each unit contains three solid-state gyroscopes and three accelerometers. Two Adcole Sun sensors provide coarse attitude control. One detects angle to the Sun, while the other measures spin rate and clocking.

Power

A cylindrical radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or RTG, protrudes from one vertex in the plane of the triangle. A radioisotope thermoelectric generator ( RTG, RITEG) is an Electrical generator which obtains its power from Radioactive decay. The RTG will provide about 240 W, 30 V DC at launch, decaying to 200 W at encounter in 2015. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. The RTG, model "GPHS-RTG," was originally a spare from the Cassini mission. Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA / ESA / ASI Robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its The RTG contains 11 kg (24 pounds) of plutonium-238 oxide pellets. Plutonium 238, is a Radioactive isotope of Plutonium with a half-life of 87 Each pellet is clad in iridium, then encased in a graphite shell. Iridium (ɪˈrɪdiəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol Ir and Atomic number 77

It was developed by the U. S. Department of Energy[16][17] at the Materials and Fuels Complex (formerly Argonne West), a part of the Idaho National Laboratory north of Idaho Falls, Idaho, near Arco, Idaho. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy The Idaho National Laboratory ( INL) is an 890-square-mile (2300-km² complex located in the Idaho desert between the town of Arco and the city of Idaho Falls is the County seat and largest city of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. Arco is a city in Butte County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1026 at the 2000 census. [18] The plutonium was produced at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL (previously known at various times as Site Y, Los Alamos Laboratory, and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) is a Less than the original design goal was produced, due to delays at the United States Department of Energy, including security activities, which held up production. The mission parameters and observation sequence had to be modified for the reduced wattage; still, not all instruments can operate simultaneously. The Department of Energy transferred the space battery program from Ohio to Argonne in 2002 because of security concerns.

There are no onboard batteries. RTG output is relatively predictable; load transients are handled by a capacitor bank and fast circuit breakers.

Thermal

Internally, the structure is painted black. This equalizes temperature by radiative heat transfer. Thermal radiation is Electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of an object which is due to the object's Temperature.

Overall, the spacecraft is thoroughly blanketed to retain heat. Unlike the Pioneers and Voyagers, the radio dish is also enclosed in blankets which extend to the body. The heat from the RTG also adds warmth to the spacecraft in the outer solar system. In the inner solar system, the spacecraft must prevent overheating. Electronic activity is limited, power is diverted to shunts with attached radiators, and louvres are opened to radiate excess heat. Then, when the spacecraft is cruising inactively in the cold outer solar system, the louvres are closed, and the shunt regulator reroutes power to electric heaters. |- align = "center"| |width = "25"| | |- align = "center"| || Potentiometer |- align = "center"| | | |- align = "center"| Resistor| |

Telecommunications

Antennas of New Horizons (HGA, MGA and LGA).
Antennas of New Horizons (HGA, MGA and LGA).

Communication with the spacecraft is via X band, at a rate of approximately 1000 bit/s from Pluto's distance (38 kbit/s at Jupiter) to a 70 m Deep Space Network (DSN) dish. The X band is part of the Microwave region of the Electromagnetic spectrum. In Telecommunications and Computing, bitrate (sometimes written bit rate, data rate or as a Variable R or f b The Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an international network of communication facilities that supports Interplanetary Spacecraft missions and The spacecraft uses dual redundant transmitters and receivers, and either right- or left-hand circular polarization. Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations The downlink signal is amplified by dual redundant 12-watt TWTAs (traveling-wave tube amplifiers) mounted on the body under the dish. A traveling-wave tube (TWT is an electronic device used to amplify Radio frequency signals to high power usually in an electronic assembly known as a traveling-wave The receivers are new, low-power designs. The system can be controlled to power both TWTAs at the same time, and transmit a dual-polarized downlink signal to the DSN that could almost double the downlink rate. Initial tests with the DSN in this dual-polarized mode have been successful, and an effort to make the DSN polarization-combining technique operational is underway.

In addition to the high-gain antenna, there are two low-gain antennas and a medium-gain dish. The high-gain dish has a Cassegrain layout, composite construction, and a 2. The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of two coaxial reflectors used in Cassegrain telescopes and radio antennas First developed in 1672 by Laurent Cassegrain 1 meter diameter (providing well over 40 dB of gain, and a half-power beam width of about a degree). The prime-focus, medium-gain antenna, with a 0. 3 meter aperture and 10-degree half-power beamwidth, is mounted to the back of the high-gain antenna's secondary reflector. The forward low-gain antenna is stacked atop the feed of the medium-gain antenna. The aft low-gain antenna is mounted within the launch adapter at the rear of the spacecraft. This antenna was only used for early mission phases near Earth, just after launch and for emergencies if the spacecraft had lost attitude control.

To save mission costs, the spacecraft will be in "hibernation" between Jupiter and Pluto. It will awaken once per year, for 50 days, for equipment checkout and trajectory tracking. The rest of the time, the spacecraft will be in a slow spin, sending a beacon tone once per week. Depending on frequency, the beacon indicates normal operation, or one of seven fault modes. New Horizons is the first mission to use the DSN's beacon tone system operationally, the system having been flight-tested by the DS1 mission. Deep Space 1 is a Spacecraft launched on 24 October 1998 as part of NASA 's New Millennium program.

Data handling

New Horizons will record scientific instrument data to its solid-state buffer at each encounter, then transmit the data to Earth. Data storage is done on two low-power solid-state recorders (one primary, one backup) holding up to 8 gigabytes (64 gigabits) each. Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed A gigabyte (derived from the SI prefix Giga-) is a unit of Information or Computer Because of the extreme distance from Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, only one buffer load at those encounters can be saved. This is because New Horizons will have left the vicinity of Pluto (or future target object) by the time it takes to transmit the buffer load back to Earth.

Part of the reason for the delay between the gathering and transmission of data is because all of the New Horizons instrumentation is body-mounted. In order for the cameras to record data, the entire probe must turn, and the one-degree-wide beam of the high-gain antenna will almost certainly not be pointing toward Earth. Previous spacecraft, such as the Voyager program probes, had a rotatable instrumentation platform (a "scan platform") that could take measurements from virtually any angle without losing radio contact with Earth. See also Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyager program consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes Voyager 1 and New Horizons' elimination of excess mechanisms was implemented to save weight, shorten the schedule, and improve reliability to achieve a 15+ year lifetime.

(The Voyager 2 spacecraft experienced platform jamming at Saturn; the demands of long time exposures at Uranus led to modifications of the probe to rotate the entire probe instead to achieve the time exposure photos at Uranus and Neptune, similar to how New Horizons will rotate. )

Flight computer

The spacecraft carries two computer systems, the Command and Data Handling system and the Guidance and Control processor. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Each of the two systems is duplicated for redundancy, giving a total of four computers. In Engineering, redundancy is the duplication of critical components of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the System, usually The processor used is the Mongoose-V, a 12 MHz radiation-hardened version of the MIPS R3000 CPU. The Mongoose-V 32-bit Microprocessor for Spacecraft on-board computer applications is a radiation-hardened and expanded 10&ndash15 MHz The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. Radiation hardening is a method of designing and testing electronic components and systems to make them resistant to damage or malfunctions caused by high-energy Subatomic particles MIPS (originally an acronym for Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) is a RISC microprocessor architecture developed by MIPS Technologies Multiple clocks and timing routines are implemented in hardware and software to help prevent faults and downtime.

To conserve heat and mass, spacecraft and instrument electronics are housed together in IEMs (Integrated Electronics Modules). There are two redundant IEMs. Including other functions such as instrument and radio electronics, each IEM contains 9 boards.

Mission science

Instrument suite

The spacecraft carries seven scientific instruments. Total mass is 31 kg; rated power is 21 watts (though not all instruments operate simultaneously). [19]

Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) 
LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager -- a visible-light, high-resolution CCD imager with a 208. A charge-coupled device ( CCD) is an analog Shift register, that enables the transportation of analog signals (electric charges through successive stages (capacitors 3 mm (8. 2 inch) aperture and 1024×1024 monochromatic CCD. Resolution is 5 microradians (approximately one arcsecond). The radian is a unit of plane Angle, equal to 180/ π degrees, or about 57 A minute of arc, arcminute, or MOA is a unit of angular measurement, equal to one sixtieth (1/60 of one degree. The CCD is chilled far below freezing by a passive radiator on the antisolar face of the spacecraft. This temperature differential requires insulation, and isolation from the rest of the structure. The Ritchey-Chretien mirrors and metering structure are made of silicon carbide, to boost stiffness, reduce weight, and prevent warping at low temperatures. The Ritchey-Chrétien telescope or RCT is a specialized Cassegrain telescope designed to eliminate coma, thus providing a relatively large field of view Silicon carbide ( is a compound of Silicon and Carbon bonded together to form Ceramics but it also occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral The optical elements sit in a composite light shield, and mount with titanium and fibreglass for thermal isolation. Overall mass is 8. 6 kg, with the OTA weighing about 5. 6 kg,[20] for one of the largest silicon-carbide telescopes yet flown.
Pluto Exploration Remote Sensing Investigation (PERSI) 
This consists of two instruments: The Ralph telescope, 6 centimetres in aperture, with two separate channels: a visible-light CCD imager (MVIC- Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera) with broadband and color channels, and a near-infrared imaging spectrometer, LEISA (Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array). A charge-coupled device ( CCD) is an analog Shift register, that enables the transportation of analog signals (electric charges through successive stages (capacitors Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of A spectrometer is an Optical instrument used to measure properties of Light over a specific portion of the Electromagnetic spectrum, typically used LEISA is derived from a similar instrument on the EO-1 mission. NASA 's New Millennium program is focused on engineering validation of new technologies for space applications The second instrument is an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer, Alice. Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays Alice resolves 1,024 wavelength bands in the far and extreme ultraviolet (from 180 to 50 nanometres), over 32 view fields. A nanometre ( American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) ( Greek: νάνος nanos dwarf; μετρώ metrό count) is a This Alice is derived from an Alice on the Rosetta mission. Rosetta is a European Space Agency -led Robotic spacecraft mission launched in 2004 intended to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Ralph, designed afterwards, was named after Alice's husband on The Honeymooners. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. Ralph and Alice are names, not acronyms.
Plasma and high energy particle spectrometer suite (PAM) 
Two instruments, consisting of SWAP (Solar Wind Analyser around Pluto), a toroidal electrostatic analyzer and retarding potential analyser, and PEPSSI (Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation), a time of flight ion and electron sensor. In Physics and Chemistry, plasma is an Ionized Gas, in which a certain proportion of Electrons are free rather than being bound An Electrostatic Analyzer or ESA is an instrument used in Ion optics that uses electric or Magnetic fields to allows passage of Ions or The time of flight (TOF describes the method used to measure the time that it takes for a particle object or stream to reach a detector while traveling over a known distance An ion is an Atom or Molecule which has lost or gained one or more Valence electrons giving it a positive or negative electrical charge The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J SWAP measures particles of up to 6. 5 keV, PEPSSI goes up to 1 MeV. Because of the tenuous solar wind at Pluto's distance, the SWAP instrument has the largest aperture of any such instrument ever flown.
Radio Science Experiment (REX) 
REX will use an ultrastable crystal oscillator (essentially a calibrated crystal in a miniature oven) and some additional electronics to conduct radio science investigations using the communications channels. A crystal oscillator is an Electronic circuit that uses the mechanical Resonance of a vibrating Crystal of piezoelectric material to create an A crystal oven is a temperature-controlled chamber used to maintain the quartz crystal in electronic Crystal oscillators at a constant temperature in order to prevent changes These are small enough to fit on a single card. Since there are two redundant communications subsystems, there are two, identical REX circuit boards.
Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (VBSDC) 
Built by students at the University of Colorado, the Student Dust Counter will operate continuously through the trajectory to make dust measurements. It consists of a detector panel, about 18 inches × 12 inches (460 mm by 300 mm), mounted on the antisolar face of the spacecraft (the ram direction), and an electronics box within the spacecraft. The detector contains fourteen PVDF panels, twelve science and two reference, which generate voltage when impacted. Polyvinylidene Fluoride, or PVDF is a highly non-reactive and pure Thermoplastic Fluoropolymer. Effective collecting area is 0. 125 m². No dust counter has operated past the orbit of Uranus; models of dust in the outer solar system, especially the Kuiper Belt, are speculative. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending The dust counter is named for Venetia Burney, who first suggested the name "Pluto" at the age of 11. Venetia Katherine Douglas Phair (née Burney) (born 1919 was the first person to suggest the name Pluto for the object discovered by Clyde W

Ralph

LORRI

SWAP

VBSDC

Science objectives and observation plan

Enhanced view of Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" by the New Horizons space probe.
Enhanced view of Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" by the New Horizons space probe.

Jupiter observations

The flyby came within about 32 Jovian radii (3 Gm) of Jupiter and was the centre of a 4-month intensive observation campaign. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Jupiter is an interesting, ever-changing target, observed intermittently since the end of the Galileo mission. Galileo was an Unmanned spacecraft sent by NASA to study the Planet Jupiter and its moons Named after the Astronomer New Horizons also has instruments built using the latest technology, especially in the area of cameras. They are much improved over Galileo's cameras, which were evolved versions of Voyager cameras which, in turn, were evolved Mariner cameras. See also Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Voyager program consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes Voyager 1 and The Mariner program was a program conducted by the American space agency NASA that launched a series of robotic interplanetary probes The Jupiter encounter also served as a shakedown and dress rehearsal for the Pluto encounter. Because of the much shorter distance from Jupiter to Earth, the communications link can transmit multiple loadings of the memory buffer. The mission will actually return more data from Jupiter than Pluto. Imaging of Jupiter began on September 4, 2006, after which several images were taken. [21]

Jupiter
Jupiter through infrared camera.
Jupiter through infrared camera.

The primary encounter goals included Jovian cloud dynamics, which were greatly reduced from the Galileo observation program, and particle readings from the magnetotail of the Jovian magnetosphere. A magnetosphere' is a highly magnetized region around and possessed by an Astronomical object. The spacecraft trajectory coincidentally flew down the magnetotail for months. A magnetosphere' is a highly magnetized region around and possessed by an Astronomical object. New Horizons also examined the Jovian nightside for aurorae and lightning. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of Electricity, which typically occurs during Thunderstorms and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or

New Horizons also provided the first close-up examination of Oval BA, a storm feature that has informally become known as the "Little Red Spot", since the storm turned red. It was still a white spot when Cassini flew by.

Animation of volcanic plumes on Io, a moon of Jupiter, by New Horizons.
Animation of volcanic plumes on Io, a moon of Jupiter, by New Horizons. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Io (ˈaɪoʊ, or as Greek

Jovian moons

The major (Galilean) moons were in poor position. The Galilean moons are the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei. The aim point of the gravity-assist maneuver meant the spacecraft passed millions of kilometers from any of the Galilean moons. Still, the New Horizons instruments were intended for small, dim targets, so they were scientifically useful on large, distant moons. LORRI searched for volcanoes and plumes on Io. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Io (ˈaɪoʊ, or as Greek The infrared capabilities of LEISA searched for chemical compositions (including Europa ice dopants), and nightside temperatures (including hotspots on Io). TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Europa (jʊˈroʊpə; or as The ultraviolet resolution of Alice searched for aurorae and atmospheres, including the Io torus.

Minor moons such as Amalthea had their orbit solutions refined. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Amalthea (, or as in Greek Αμάλθεια The cameras determined their position, acting as 'reverse optical navigation. '


Pluto flyby

Observations of Pluto, with LORRI plus Ralph, will begin about 6 months prior to closest approach. The targets will be only a few pixels across. In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image This should detect any rings or any additional moons (eventually down to 2 kilometres diameter), for avoidance and targeting maneuvers, and observation scheduling. 70 days out, resolution will exceed the Hubble Space Telescope's resolution, lasting another two weeks after the flyby. The Hubble Space Telescope ( HST; also known colloquially as "the Hubble" or just "Hubble" is a space telescope that was carried into Long-range imaging will include 40 km (25 mi) mapping of Pluto and Charon 3. 2 days out. This is half the rotation period of Pluto-Charon and will allow imaging of the side of both bodies that will be facing away from the spacecraft at closest approach. Coverage will repeat twice per day, to search for changes due to snows or cryovolcanism. A cryovolcano is literally an Icy Volcano. Cryovolcanoes form on Icy moons and possibly on other low- Temperature Astronomical objects Still, due to Pluto's tilt and rotation, a portion of the northern hemisphere will be in shadow at all times.

During the flyby, LORRI should be able to obtain select images with resolution as high as 50 m/px (if closest distance is around 10,000 km), and MVIC should obtain 4-color global dayside maps at 1. In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image 6 km resolution. LORRI and MVIC will attempt to overlap their respective coverage areas to form stereo pairs. LEISA will obtain hyperspectral near-infrared maps at 7 km/px globally and 0. 6 km/pixel for selected areas. Meanwhile, Alice will characterize the atmosphere, both by emissions of atmospheric molecules (airglow), and by dimming of background stars as they pass behind Pluto (occultation). The airglow is the very weak emission of light by the Earth's atmosphere; as a result the night sky is never completely dark In Shia Islam The Occultation is a term used to designate the hidden state of the Imam of the Time.

During and after closest approach, SWAP and PEPSSI will sample the high atmosphere and its effects on the solar wind. The solar wind is a Stream of charged particles&mdasha plasma &mdashthat are ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. VBSDC will search for dust, inferring meteoroid collision rates and any invisible rings. REX will perform active and passive radio science. Ground stations on Earth will transmit a powerful radio signal as New Horizons passes behind Pluto's disk, then emerges on the other side. The communications dish will measure the disappearance and reappearance of the signal. The results will resolve Pluto's diameter (by their timing) and atmospheric density and composition (by their weakening and strengthening pattern). (Alice can perform similar occultations, using sunlight instead of radio beacons. ) Previous missions had the spacecraft transmit through the atmosphere, to Earth ("downlink"). Low power and extreme distance means New Horizons will be the first such "uplink" mission. Pluto's mass and mass distribution will be evaluated by their tug on the spacecraft. As the spacecraft speeds up and slows down, the radio signal will experience a Doppler shift. The Doppler effect (or Doppler shift) named after Christian Doppler, is the change in Frequency and Wavelength of a Wave for The Doppler shift will be measured by comparison with the ultrastable oscillator in the communications electronics.

Reflected sunlight from Charon will allow some imaging observations of the nightside. Backlighting by the Sun will highlight any rings or atmospheric hazes. REX will perform radiometry of the nightside.

Initial, highly-compressed images will be transmitted within days. Image compression is the application of Data compression on Digital images In effect the objective is to reduce redundancy of the image data in order to be able to The science team will select the best images for public release. Uncompressed images will take about nine months to transmit, depending on Deep Space Network traffic. The Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an international network of communication facilities that supports Interplanetary Spacecraft missions and It may turn out, however, that fewer months will be needed. The spacecraft link is proving stronger than expected, and it is possible that both downlink channels may be ganged together to boost performance even further.

Primary objectives (required)

Loss of any of these objectives will constitute a failure of the mission. An ion is an Atom or Molecule which has lost or gained one or more Valence electrons giving it a positive or negative electrical charge An atmosphere (from Greek ατμός - atmos, " Vapor " + σφαίρα - sphaira, " Sphere "

Secondary objectives (highly desired)

It is expected, but not demanded, that most of these objectives will be met. Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual The terminator is a fictive line that delimits the illuminated day side and dark Night side of a planetary body (also known as the "grey line" or The ionosphere is the uppermost part of the atmosphere, distinguished because it is Ionized by solar radiation The solar wind is a Stream of charged particles&mdasha plasma &mdashthat are ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. A nitrile is any Organic compound which has a - C ≡ N Functional group. The albedo of an object is the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the sun

Tertiary objectives (desired)

These objectives may be attempted, though they may be skipped in favor of the above objectives. A natural satellite or moon is a Celestial body that Orbits a Planet or smaller body which is called the primary. A planetary ring is a ring of Cosmic dust and other small particles Orbiting around a Planet in a flat disc-shaped region An objective to measure any magnetic field of Pluto was dropped. A magnetometer instrument could not be implemented within a reasonable mass budget and schedule, and SWAP and PEPPSI could do an indirect job detecting some magnetic field around Pluto. A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of the Magnetic field in the vicinity of the instrument

Asteroid belt

The 2.5 kilometer-wide asteroid 132524 APL, photographed by the New Horizons probe
The 2. 5 kilometer-wide asteroid 132524 APL, photographed by the New Horizons probe

Because of the need to conserve fuel for possible encounters with Kuiper-belt objects subsequent to the Pluto flyby, intentional encounters with objects in the asteroid belt were not planned. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the Planets Mars and Jupiter. Subsequent to launch, the New Horizons team scanned the spacecraft's trajectory to determine if any asteroids would, by chance, be close enough for observation. In May 2006 it was discovered that New Horizons would pass close to the tiny asteroid 132524 APL on June 13, 2006. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Closest approach occurred at 4:05 UTC at a distance of 101,867 kilometers. The asteroid was imaged by Ralph (use of LORRI at that time was not possible due to proximity to sun), which gave the team a chance to exercise Ralph's capabilities, and make observations of the asteroid's composition as well as light and phase curves. The asteroid's size was estimated to be 2. 5 kilometers in diameter. [22][23][24]

Neptune Trojans

New Horizons' trajectory to Pluto passes near Neptune's trailing Lagrange point ("L5"). A number of "Trojan asteroids" have been discovered in these regions recently, although it is not yet known if New Horizons will pass close to any. If any asteroids are found to be close enough to be studied, observations will be planned. [25] Unfortunately, the Lagrange point comes shortly before the Pluto encounter. Depending on where the asteroid is along the spacecraft trajectory, New Horizons may not have significant downlink bandwidth, and thus free memory, for Trojan data.

Kuiper-Belt objects

New Horizons is designed to fly past one or more Kuiper-belt objects after passing Pluto. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending Because the flight path is determined by the Pluto flyby, with only minimal hydrazine remaining, objects must be found within a cone, extending from Pluto, of less than a degree's width, within 55 AU. Hydrazine is a Chemical compound with the formula N2H4 It has an Ammonia -like odor and is derived from the same industrial chemistry The astronomical unit ( AU or au or au or sometimes ua) is a unit of Length based on the distance from the Earth to the Past 55 AU, the communications link becomes too weak, and the RTG wattage will have decayed significantly enough to hinder observations. Desirable KBOs will be well over 50 km in diameter, neutral in color (to compare with the reddish Pluto), and, if possible, possess a moon. Because the population of KBOs appears quite large, multiple objects may qualify. Large ground telescopes will find suitable objects up until the Pluto flyby; the Pluto aim point, plus some thruster firing, will then determine the subsequent trajectory. KBO flyby observations will be similar to those at Pluto, but reduced due to lower light, power, and bandwidth.

References

  1. ^ Home. New Horizons website. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
  2. ^ "Pluto Mission to Carry Piece of SpaceShipOne", Space. com, December 20, 2005.  
  3. ^ New Horizons launches on voyage to Pluto and beyond (January 19, 2006, from 'spaceflightnow. com'. Retrieved 2007-10-23. )
  4. ^ Damage prompts booster replacement for Pluto probe. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved on 2007-07-31. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently
  5. ^ Derelict Booster to Beat Pluto Probe to Jupiter. Space. com. Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
  6. ^ Stern, Alan (January 31 2006). Our Aim Is True (HTML). The PI's Perspective. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
  7. ^ Stern, Alan (February 27 2006). Boulder and Baltimore (HTML). The PI's Perspective. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
  8. ^ pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/030906.
  9. ^ "Outbound for the Frontier, New Horizons Crosses the Orbit of Mars", Johns Hopkins APL, April 7, 2006.  
  10. ^ "New Horizons Tracks an Asteroid", Johns Hopkins APL, June 15, 2006.  
  11. ^ pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/092606.html.
  12. ^ Alexander, Amir (September 27, 2006). Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. New Horizons Snaps First Picture of Jupiter. The Planetary Society. Retrieved on 2006-12-19. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
  13. ^ "Fantastic Flyby", NASA, May 1, 2007
  14. ^ New Horizons, Not Quite to Jupiter, Makes First Pluto Sighting.
  15. ^ NASA (2006-04-11). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. "Hubble Finds 'Tenth Planet' is Slightly Larger than Pluto". Press release. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News Retrieved on 2006-06-10. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem
  16. ^ The use of a plutonium RTG battery resulted in minor demonstrations some days before launch by about 30 anti-nuclear protesters. The amount of radioactive plutonium in the RTG is 10. 9 kg, about one-third the amount on-board the Cassini-Huygens probe when it launched in 1997. Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA / ESA / ASI Robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its That launch was protested by over 300 people. The United States Department of Energy estimated the chances of a launch accident that would release radiation into the atmosphere at 1 in 350 and monitored the launch as it always does when RTGs are involved. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy It was believed that a worst-case scenario of total dispersal of on-board plutonium would spread the equivalent radiation of 80% the average annual dosage in North America from background radiation over an area with a radius of 65 miles (~110 km), with cleanup costing anywhere from $241 million – $1. 2 billion USD per square mile. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
  17. ^ Pluto Probe Launch Scrubbed for Tuesday January 18, 2006
  18. ^ Friederich, Steven. "Argonne Lab is developing battery for NASA missions", Idaho State Journal, December 16, 2003.  
  19. ^ Y. Guo, R. W. Farquhar (2006). "Baseline design of New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper belt". Acta Astronautica 58 (10): 550-559. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2006.01.012. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
  20. ^ A. F. Cheng et al. . Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager on New Horizons.
  21. ^ Pluto probe gets an eyeful in Jupiter flyby February 28, 2007
  22. ^ Stern, Alan (June 1 2006). Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected A Summer's Crossing of the Asteroid Belt (HTML). The PI's Perspective. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
  23. ^ JF56 Ecounter, Encounter Date 13 June 2006 UT. Pluto New Horizons Mission, Supporting Observations for 2002. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.
  24. ^ New Horizons Tracks an Asteroid (HTML). Headlines: New Horizons Web site. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-15. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history
  25. ^ Stern, Alan (May 1 2006). Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Where Is the Centaur Rocket? (HTML). The PI's Perspective. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved on 2006-06-11. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes.

See also

Media


A paper model of the New Horizons spacecraft can be built from the sheets below:

A paper model of Pluto, and a dynamic model of the Pluto-Charon system, can be built by visiting: New Horizons Models

External links

Events 871 - Battle of Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
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