Launch of the New Horizons Spacecraft

[OrigoATT]

HAPPY 6 YEARS EVERYBODY!!!

[OfolenWS]

I just can't wait for New Horizon to take pictures of Pluto in July 14th 2015! I'll be 23 by that time!

[xxxDEVONAVICHxxx]

this is so cool, it's supposed to be on pluto on July 14th 2015-my birthday :D

[starwarsfanboy]

@xxxDEVONAVICHxxx Congrats! Double cause to celebrate with your family =) Ask for two cakes.

[xxxDEVONAVICHxxx]

@starwarsfanboy i will :P one for me and one for pluto

[kazied82]

i will be 18 by the time it flies by pluto

[IzmirMr]

y there are no people

[borpee2]

I will be almost 27 by the time it flies by Pluto.

[DeleteThisMF]

I hope we figure out how to make a man object go even faster so we could expand travel outside of the solar system in a timely manner

[SpartanW98]

wow i thought i was the only one whoever thought of that haha. this thing will float through space for 9 years to get to pluto, 10 light hours away

[DeleteThisMF]

@SpartanW98 yup keyword light HOURS. Light years...forgetboutit. I mean look at Voyager. 33 years later it's just now though the Heliosphere

[OrigoATT]

answers to some questions on here

1) no people on board..

2) reached jupiter before the voyagers (in time elapse)..

3) 16km/s...

4) 16 january 2006..

5) voyager one is about 16 billion km away..

6) NH will be going 13km/s when it reaches where V1 is now..

there you go :)

[starwarsfanboy]

Thank you!

[Glennfalconi]

@OrigoATT I thought so. They are simulating a trip to mars. I couldn't understand it if there were people in the spaceship to PLUTO. It will arrive in 2015 ( expected). But another thing you might wanna answer :P Is there a robotic device included to the space ship so it will show pictures of the planet just like the rover?

[OrigoATT]

@Glennfalconi erm.. nope.. its a fly by... kind of like google earth apart from.. 3 billion miles away at the edge of the solar system.. it wont have Google Street View if thats what your thinking...

[Randomstuff771]

how fast is it going currently?

[starwarsfanboy]

I have no idea.

[DeleteThisMF]

36,373 miles per hour. It could go from NY to LA in 3 minutes. It left Earth at the fastest speed ever recorded for a human-made object.

[Altair19PL]

I wonder what happens if it will leave the solar system.

[Altair19PL]

March 18, 2011 — The probe will pass Uranus' orbit.

August 24, 2014 — The probe will pass Neptune's orbit.

July 14, 2015 — Flyby of Pluto around 11:47 UTC at 13695 km, 13.78 km/s.

July 14, 2015 — Flyby of Charon around 12:01 UTC at 29473 km, 13.87 km/s.

2016-2020 — Possible flyby of one or more Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs).

2029 — The probe leaves the solar system.

[NintendoSkullKid]

are there people in there!? O.o just curious

[starwarsfanboy]

I'm pretty sure there aren't. This thing is Pluto bound. =)

[NintendoSkullKid]

they probaly gonna discover newer planet if it reaches pluto

[RYANcanada1]

how does it not run out of fuel? what makes it run?

[starwarsfanboy]

Erm, I'm not very good with this sort of science. For one thing, they use liquid fuel so that they can hold more than if they used gas - notice how large the rocket is. Secondly, they only need enough fuel to launch the thing out of Earth's gravity - a lot, yes, but there is more than enough in those huge boosters to get them out of the pull of gravity. From then on, because there's no more gravity and no air in space to slow it down, the craft just keeps gliding forever until it hits something.

[starwarsfanboy]

Hope that clears it up a bit. =)

[schuwag]

i dont know if it has the fastest launch...

but this craft reached the moon in less than 9 hours... way faster than the apollo 11 mission

[teemuruskeepaa]

The video is incomplete

[starwarsfanboy]

You post the complete version then.

[teemuruskeepaa]

watch?v=nUKNrcKXEgQ

[comebackata2]

what makes this launch the fastest in history?

[starwarsfanboy]

I have no clue. But do not forget, this rocket was not like the Apollo missions; I'm sure there were plenty of modern improvements that allowed this Atlas rocket to accelerate much quicker than most other previous rockets.

[blablubb12345]

A very light spacecraft on the heaviest launcher availlable in the US at that moment plus an additional Star48 solid kick stage.

[starwarsfanboy]

Hmm, you have a point.

But we've lasted so long, and look how the Cold War turned out...I don't think we'll be wiping each other out (in the sense of planetary war) any time soon. Not for a couple years at least. Time is ticking, and 2015 is a mere 7 years away. Considering our eons-old history of the Universe, 7 years is not really a lot. So who knows? We may yet live to see this mission succeed.

[recoordant]

great, but i don't think that it will ever pass voyager 1. It's already 16 Tm away from sun and has taken amazing photos of the milky way (pale blue dot :) ).

But it will provide us with better informations as it has a technology 30 years more advanced than voyager 1 or 2.

[starwarsfanboy]

I agree, voyager 1 has already gone wayward. But it's useful, in a way.

And yes, that is where it will surpass Voyager 1. Too bad it's going to take so long....

[Vooba]

When was it lauched?

[starwarsfanboy]

Hmm, call me stupid, but I don't remember. Just Google it and find out on Wikipedia.

[Testerer004]

just...AMAZING!

[TIREDNDBORED]

This just shows that somethings changed in the world. Not so long ago this would have been watched by millions. But look a mere 300 views for this. How can anyone get tired of watching these things go up? It doesn't make sense.

[starwarsfanboy]

It doesn't make sense to me either. Maybe everyone's just absorbed in their own, self-centered worlds and not worried about the advances in science and technology.

[nucleargenie]

Why would people want to engage in something that is truly life changing when we could be mindlessly entertained with American Idol?[/sarcasm]

[davidg8089]

To an extent, I agree with you, however I can also understand those who say, been there, done that. After Apollo, and Space Shuttle and all it LOOKS similar.

[davidg8089]

To an extent, I agree with you, however I can also understand those who say, been there, done that. After Apollo, and Space Shuttle and all it LOOKS similar.

[kinkyjaws]

This always brings the kid out in me!!!!!!

[starwarsfanboy]

I'm glad you like it.

[starwarsfanboy]

Thanks very much to whoever marked the comment from DRMABUSA as spam, I really appreciate it.

[phoenixshade3]

Just 7 1/2 years to go...

I've never seen an Atlas V launch before. SRB separation looks way cool.

[starwarsfanboy]

Yes, exasperating, isn't it? Makes me wish they could make Star Wars a reality...Pluto would only be a small hyperspace jump away...

[davidg8089]

WHAT?? Hyperspace jump in a solar system?? Are you MAD!?!?! ;-)

[starwarsfanboy]

Yes indeed, I AM mad.

But hey, all in the spirit of creativity...who knows....