New Horizons: Pre-launch, launch and main cruise, Pluto and the Kuiper belt Options

[cIclops]

Yes it's happening after all these years, the mission to the last planet!

And maybe to celebrate the confirmation of budget, NASA approval preparations and the fueling of the RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator), there is an updated web site at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

Launch will be January 2006 with arrival at the Pluto Charon system July 2015 (mark your calender!) and then on through the Kuiper belt during 2016-2020 and beyond.

20.8-centimeter telescope for 100m resolution at closest approach
IR/UV spectrometers
2 x 8GB data recorders
data rate: 768 bps (sic) to 70m DSN
465kg including fuel
$650m

336 days to launch

[nprev]

To be honest, I've always regarded a KBO encounter for NH as a nice-to-have but definitely not a need-to-have.

Interesting part here is that we're presumably getting some good data about the object density in the Kuiper Belt by virtue of this search for follow-on NH targets. Funny how we always learn something by just looking, ain't it?

[Alan Stern]

The Decadal Survey that recommended this mission very clearly stated that the KBO flybys were as important as Pluto and called the mission Pluto Kuiper Belt (PKB). As to getting a KBO or two to explore, its easily done from Hubble which can go fainter and avoid the weather/seeing problems that we've had with groundbased telescopes. We plan to propose to HST soon.

[Eric H.]

The Decadal Survey that recommended this mission very clearly stated that the KBO flybys were as important as Pluto and called the mission Pluto Kuiper Belt (PKB). As to getting a KBO or two to explore, its easily done from Hubble which can go fainter and avoid the weather/seeing problems that we've had with groundbased telescopes. We plan to propose to HST soon.

I'm extremely hopeful the HST proposal will get approved, esp. since it's so highly valued by the Survey. Best of luck.