Originally published January 6 2006
World's first mission to Pluto moves forward
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
NASA plans to launch the New Horizons probe atop the Atlas 5 rocket probe sometime before Feb. 14, despite minor setbacks. It takes several years to complete the 4-billion-mile journey to Pluto.
The world's first mission to Pluto took another step toward launch Saturday with the move of the New Horizons probe to Launch Complex 41, where it will be installed atop an Atlas 5 rocket.
Members of the media garbed in protective unforms view NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
Members of the media garbed in protective unforms view NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
NASA moved the interplanetary spacecraft in the dark early Saturday morning under tight security, though the reason had nothing to do with the probe's plutonium power source.
The nuclear generator that will power the craft's systems will not be installed until about three days before the launch, now scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 17.
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George Diller, a spokesman for the Kennedy Space Center, said the reason for moving the spaceship in darkness is to protect sensitive components from sunlight.
Until Saturday, the probe was undergoing final preparations and inspections ina tightly-controlled payload facility at the space center.
NASA continues to aim to launch the probe sometime before Feb. 14 despite a minor setback involving the rocket.
Lockheed Martin Corp. has discovered a problem with a propellant tank similar to the one to be flown with this Atlas 5, and NASA and the company decided extra time was needed for inspections.
The launch was set for Jan. 11, but the extra inspections mean liftoff can't happen until at least Jan. 17.
Further delays are problematic because if the probe blasts off later in the launch window, it can take several years longer to complete the 4-billion-mile journey to Pluto.
If the mission does not launch by Valentine's Day, the New Horizons probe will have to wait until 2007 to start its trip.
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