Marshall helps push New Horizons

$700M Pluto probe set to take off today atop Titan V rocket

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

By SHELBY G. SPIRES
Times Aerospace Writer shelbys@htimes.com

A $700 million Pluto probe slated to be launched today will be riding on a column of smoke and fire generated by a Titan rocket and on the expertise of Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center.

If all goes on schedule, the New Horizons Pluto probe will be launched on a Lockheed Martin Titan V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida about noon today.

Because of the orbits of Jupiter and Pluto, the launch schedule is crucial for the probe to make a Pluto encounter in nine years by using a Jupiter fly-by to "sling-shot" it to faster speeds using the planet's massive gravity. Launch delays could keep the Pluto probe from its objective until July 2020.

Although Marshall "didn't have a major hand in designing New Horizons, the center did have technical oversight and helped the teams," said Paul Gilbert, a Marshall manager who worked on the Pluto probe.

"Marshall Space Flight Center has been an important part of this mission," said Dr. Hal Weaver, New Horizons Pluto mission project scientist with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. "New Horizons is going faster than any (probe) before it and Marshall's" expertise in propulsion has been "invaluable."

Marshall was assigned management of the probe about 18 months ago, Gilbert said, when it took over NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers programs. About 50 people work on management, engineering and publicity for nine operational and planned space science missions.

However, Gilbert said, the bulk of the Pluto New Horizons work has been accomplished by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

Gilbert likened the Pluto mission to previous NASA endeavors such as the Apollo lunar missions and the Voyager probes that were the first to fly by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

"I think what's special to many people, certainly me, is that this is the first mission to Pluto," Gilbert said in a telephone interview last week.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, but astronomers know little about the planet other than it is very cold there - more than 400 degrees below zero - and it takes the planet 248 years to orbit the sun. Even the powerful Hubble Space Telescope returns pictures of Pluto that reveal little about the ice-encrusted planet.

Scientists hope the 1,054-pound Pluto probe, which will blaze across the outer solar system at speeds of more than 47,000 mph, reaches Pluto by 2015.

That's if it launches on time to make a crucial fly-by of Jupiter. If the probe doesn't make it off the ground before Feb. 2, it could be 2020 before New Horizons starts to look at the planet named for the Roman god of the underworld.

"We have a fly-by of Jupiter, and that's a big advantage for us," Weaver said. "The gravity will sling shot (New Horizons) around Jupiter and pick up speed, and it will cut about three to five years off the travel time to Pluto."

Before it reaches Pluto, the probe will have some work when it nears Jupiter in February 2007, Weaver said. The instruments will be pointed at Jupiter, allowing the Pluto researchers "to get a good dry run and work out some details using Jupiter before we get to Pluto," he said.

"We hope to perform some unique science, also, by looking at Jupiter's magnetosphere," Weaver said. "The planet has a huge magnetic (signature) that looks like a comet's tail almost. New Horizons is equipped to look at that, and it will be the first time any instruments have studied it closely."




Marshall helps push New Horizons $700M Pluto probe set to take off today atop Titan V rocket Tuesday, January 17, 2006 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelbys@htimes.com A $700 million Pluto probe slated to be launched today will be riding on a column of smoke and fire generated by a Titan rocket and on the expertise of Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center. If all goes on schedule, the New Horizons Pluto probe will be launched on a Lockheed Martin Titan V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida about noon today. Because of the orbits of Jupiter and Pluto, the launch schedule is crucial for the probe to make a Pluto encounter in nine years by using a Jupiter fly-by to "sling-shot" it to faster speeds using the planet's massive gravity. Launch delays could keep the Pluto probe from its objective until July 2020. Although Marshall "didn't have a major hand in designing New Horizons, the center did have technical oversight and helped the teams," said Paul Gilbert, a Marshall manager who worked on the Pluto probe. "Marshall Space Flight Center has been an important part of this mission," said Dr. Hal Weaver, New Horizons Pluto mission project scientist with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. "New Horizons is going faster than any (probe) before it and Marshall's" expertise in propulsion has been "invaluable." Marshall was assigned management of the probe about 18 months ago, Gilbert said, when it took over NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers programs. About 50 people work on management, engineering and publicity for nine operational and planned space science missions. However, Gilbert said, the bulk of the Pluto New Horizons work has been accomplished by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Gilbert likened the Pluto mission to previous NASA endeavors such as the Apollo lunar missions and the Voyager probes that were the first to fly by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. "I think what's special to many people, certainly me, is that this is the first mission to Pluto," Gilbert said in a telephone interview last week. Pluto was discovered in 1930, but astronomers know little about the planet other than it is very cold there - more than 400 degrees below zero - and it takes the planet 248 years to orbit the sun. Even the powerful Hubble Space Telescope returns pictures of Pluto that reveal little about the ice-encrusted planet. Scientists hope the 1,054-pound Pluto probe, which will blaze across the outer solar system at speeds of more than 47,000 mph, reaches Pluto by 2015. That's if it launches on time to make a crucial fly-by of Jupiter. If the probe doesn't make it off the ground before Feb. 2, it could be 2020 before New Horizons starts to look at the planet named for the Roman god of the underworld. "We have a fly-by of Jupiter, and that's a big advantage for us," Weaver said. "The gravity will sling shot (New Horizons) around Jupiter and pick up speed, and it will cut about three to five years off the travel time to Pluto." Before it reaches Pluto, the probe will have some work when it nears Jupiter in February 2007, Weaver said. The instruments will be pointed at Jupiter, allowing the Pluto researchers "to get a good dry run and work out some details using Jupiter before we get to Pluto," he said. "We hope to perform some unique science, also, by looking at Jupiter's magnetosphere," Weaver said. "The planet has a huge magnetic (signature) that looks like a comet's tail almost. New Horizons is equipped to look at that, and it will be the first time any instruments have studied it closely." © 2006 The Huntsville Times © 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.