Post by glactus on Sept 6, 2011 1:26:35 GMT
New Horizon Spacecraft and the Dwarf Planet Pluto
New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently on route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1. NASA may also attempt flybys of one or more other Kuiper belt objects.
New Horizon at Pluto
New Horizons was launched on January 19, 2006, directly into an Earth-and-solar-escape trajectory with an Earth-relative velocity of about 16.26 km/s (58,536 km/h; 36,373 mph) after its last engine shut down. Thus, the spacecraft left Earth at the greatest ever launch speed for a man-made object.
Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1.
It flew by Jupiter on February 28, 2007, the orbit of Saturn on June 8, 2008; and the orbit of Uranus on March 18, 2011. It is projected to reach Pluto on July 14, 2015, after which it will continue farther into the Kuiper belt.
To see video of New Horizons "half way to Pluto" just click on the link below. Has sound
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdzQgUWw7to&feature=player_embedded#at=89
Credits: These are non copywrite images.
Text by Wikipedia