NEW HORIZONS Mission Overview New Horizons will help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon – a “double planet” and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft – Pluto’s moons, and the Kuiper Belt objects beyond. Packed with robust electronics and a full suite of science instruments, the compact New Horizons probe is fortified for a long voyage of discovery. Launched on a powerful Atlas V rocket, New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever dispatched to the outer solar system, passing lunar orbit distance nine hours after launch and reaching Jupiter for a gravity assist and scientific studies just 13 months later. As early as 2015 it will conduct a five-month-long flyby study of the Pluto system. Then, as part of a potential extended mission, it will head deeper into the Kuiper Belt to study one or more of the icy mini-worlds in that vast region at least a billion miles beyond Neptune’s orbit. Sending New Horizons on this long journey will help us answer basic questions about the surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres on these mysterious relics of solar system formation – and tell us much about the origins and evolution of the worlds around us. Launch New Horizons will lift off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a Lockheed Martin Atlas V-551 launch vehicle. The 29-day launch period extends from Jan. 17-Feb. 14, 2006; mission designers picked these dates because Earth is along the line of sight to Pluto during this part of the year. The launch window is also longer than those for most planetary missions because New Horizons takes advantage of two back-to-back trajectories: one that takes it past Jupiter for a gravity assist, and one that sends it directly to Pluto. Launch opportunities of up to two hours are available each day. The Atlas V-551 is NASA’s most powerful launch vehicle. It features a Common Core Booster first stage, bolstered by five strap-on solid rocket boosters. Its second stage uses the Centaur booster. New Horizons also has a custom Boeing solid-propellant STAR 48B third-stage motor, which gives it a final push toward Jupiter and on to Pluto. With New Horizons secured in a 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) diameter payload fairing, the launch vehicle is 59.7 meters (196 feet) tall. The Atlas V will lift of with 2,451,810 pounds (10,906,194 newtons) of force. (A newton is the unit of force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass to one meter per second in one second.) Now Arriving: New Horizons’ arrival date at Pluto depends on when After it separates from the third stage, New Horizons the spacecraft launches. It must launch by Feb. 2 to use the Jupiter gravity will speed from Earth at about 16 kilometers per assist; Feb. 3-14 is a direct flight to Pluto. second, or 36,000 miles per hour – the fastest Launch Date (2006) Pluto Arrival spacecraft ever launched. New Horizons will reach (close approach) lunar orbit distance (about 384,000 kilometers or 238,600 miles from Earth) approximately nine hours Jan. 17-27 July 14, 2015 after launch – the Apollo missions to the moon took Jan. 28 August 15, 2015 about three days – and reach the Jupiter system Jan. 29-31 July 12, 2016 in 13 months. During the 13 months en route to Jupiter, New Horizons will undergo system and Feb. 1-2 July 11, 2017 instrument checkouts, instrument calibrations, Feb. 3-8 July 10, 2018 trajectory correction maneuvers, and rehearsals for Feb. 9-12 June 7, 2019 the Jupiter encounter. Feb. 13-14 July 20, 2020 NASA’s First Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt 25