Nh - The Launch Thread, Godspeed little one Options

[djellison]

I thought it was time, with the Atlas V about to roll out - for a new thread for NH for the launch etc.

Someone asked over at the HZ just how NH can go so fast, this was my reply....

How do you get a spacecraft to Jupiter in under a year? Easy. Make it very very light, and put it on a very very big rocket. The config of Atlas V rocket being used to launch NH (551 - 5m fairing, 5 solids, and one engine on the Centaur stage ) would typically put 8,670kg into GTO or 20,520 into LEO.
New Horizons is 478kg, and it's Star 48B 3rd stage is 2,137kg - so instead of hauling 20 tons, this vehicle is hauling about 2.5 tons thus you get a HUGE velocity out of it. AND, once it's done that, you have the final kick of the 48B, 591 thousand kgs-s (thus accelerating is all a further 3.5 - 4km/s ball park speed, if my maths is right)
At launch - the vehicle is 573,160kg. NH is 0.083% of it.
Imagine the Apollo entry capsule on top of a Saturn V...tiny tiny tiny... that was 5,800 kg on a 3,038,500kg rocket - 0.191% - more than double that percentage of NH. The cutaway's are almost comical, with this tiny gold-clad box on an enormous vehicle.
Basically - it's a LOT of rocket, and not a lot of payload.
For comparison, look how much fuss was made of Stardust that entered so quickly. It took >16 hrs to get from the distance of the moon to Utah. NH makes that journey in 9 hours
One thing the NH mission is not short of, is superlatives.

I'm not one for good luck charms (although I'll eat peanuts during a Martian EDL with the best of them), but this mission has been so long in coming, that it deserves every ounce of luck it can have - the best, most accurate launch possible, the cleanest checkout, and incident free cruise to Jupiter.

Goodluck and Godspeed little one, we're with you every step of the way.

Doug
PS - Alan, you're a credit to your field, spending so much time answering questions and writing the PI Perspectives, it's been a hell of a journey!

[Guest_Analyst_*]

Goodluck and sunny weather tomorrow. It's been a long road and still so many miles to go.

Btw, it's the very same launch pad both Voyager's used 1977 (and both Viking's did in 1975).

I will be watching, NASA TV online and hopefully one German TV channel will broadcast the launch. It's 7:24 pm CET, right after work.

Analyst

[punkboi]

Btw, it's the very same launch pad both Voyager's used 1977 (and both Viking's did in 1975).

Didn't Cassini launch from there as well? Or was that Complex 40?

I'm checking out the really wonderful Expendable Launch Vehicle Countdown Portal at KSC's website, and there's a lot of info there, but I'm finding it confusing.  Can someone help straighten me out?

- First of all, the clock showing GMT and EST time shows 18:00 GMT when my own clock shows 10:41 (PST).  So it appears that on my machine at least the applet appears to be running behind by 41 minutes.  Does anybody else see a similar delay, or is the clock on the display synchronized to yours?

- Second, the "Window opening time" is listed as 016:17:25:00, which I think is a ddd:hh:mm:ss display.  But if that's the case, that refers to a time that passed about an hour ago, and I don't think NH has launched yet   Am I reading this wrong or is the applet messed up and does anybody else see the same thing?

--Emily

The only countdown clock I follow is the one on the JHU website...since it's much simpler