NASA is ready to go to Pluto.

It will take 9 years but NASA is now ready to send its New Horizons spacecraft to the planet Pluto.

www.sciencedaily.com

-- NASA is all set to launch its $700-million New Horizons spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a nearly nine-year journey to Pluto.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday the New Horizons will be the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's first mission to an unexplored planet since 1977 when it is launched on Tuesday -- and will complete NASA's grand tour of all the planets in the solar system.

"This is the capstone of the missions to the planets that NASA has led since the 1960s," said Alan Stern, an astrophysicist with the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, who is the principal investigator for the New Horizons mission.

NASA hopes that Pluto will give them new information on how planets are formed.
2015 seems so far away right now...

Too bad that the worl will have ended by then....

Anyway, it's about time they go to Pluto. Hasn't had that much attention has it? It's all been Mars and Saturns moons pretty much up to this point.

Hey, the NASA TV live webcast has started!!!

www.nasa.gov...

SpaceFlightNow.com Mission Status Center

[edit on 1-17-2006 by Zion Mainframe]

Thanks for that Zion Mainframe
T minus two hours and counting...

For those who didn't get to see this thread yet, the launch is in one hour and you can watch the webcast by going to the link that Zion Mainframe has posted above.

They have mentioned that the winds are close to the limit. Hopefully the launch wont be delayed.

T-minus 20 minutes to launch. Now is the time to click that link if you want to watch the launch.

1810 GMT (1:10 p.m. EST)

T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered this final hold, which planned to last 10 minutes. Launch is still targeted for 1:24 p.m. EST, pending resolution of the valve issue and acceptable weather.

Extented to 1:45? I'll need to go to bed soon so faster please... ...I'm at the other side of the planet...

update 2:10pm launch time.

worried about gusts of winds, which are above accepted limits, but the gusts are few and far between. Everyhting is Go except the weather

FYI Launch window will be open til 3:23Pm EST

[edit on 1/17/2006 by Jehosephat]

POSTPONED AGAIN!

Launch now at: 2:10 PM EST

Now they hav put it at 2:10! Sry guys I cannot be with you all anymore to watch the launch. It bedtime for me...

You can always watch the video's tomorrow, at nasa.gov
Hopefully the rocket won't explode, the spacecraft uses plutonium for propulsion

i dont think they are trying to go to pluto,maybe that is a diversion for something must bigger...by 2012 were gonna have full disclosure so i dont see why they are going to pluto?

MagicPriest420, someone has started a thread questioning the truth about this mission. Exploring Pluto? Do they think were STUPID????

It would be great if we could keep conspiracy theory to that thread.


Sorry to hear you have to go NotheRaGe.
I'm watching this with my two kids and we're getting tired of waiting too

Originally posted by MagicPriest420
i dont think they are trying to go to pluto,maybe that is a diversion for something must bigger...by 2012 were gonna have full disclosure so i dont see why they are going to pluto?

Pff, sure man, what have you been smoking?
What makes you think this mission is for something other than researching Pluto?

Anyway, the launch has been postponed yet again, new launch time is now at 2:30 PM EST

New time is

2:50 EST

POSTPONED AGAIN

Launch now at 2:50 PM EST (hopefully)

Better safe than sorry I guess.
My daughter will be 15 when this thing finally gets to Pluto. I really want her to watch this today and hopefully build a memory from it.

Again postponed..

3:05 PM

It keeps getign moved! ARGH! I should just study for my exams...