Fastest ever space craft to launch, pass moon in just 9 hours
 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10878811/

As a comparison, Apollo 11 took 3 days to reach the moon.

Its utlimate destination, which it will reach in aproximately 10 years, is Pluto, the last planet we have not sent some sort of probe to. Along with exploring Pluto, NASA also plans to collect data about the belt of ice and other debris that Pluto exists in.

Yes! I just saw a show on this on one of the science channels...I am SO excited!!:snap: :snap:

Pluto is so interesting: comet? or planet? Kuiper belt capture? God, I hope I'm around when the data starts coming in...

BTW I think you meant 9 hours, not days, in the thread title. The mission will take 9 years, I believe.

Here's a good graphic detailing the onboard intruments and what kinds of data the probe is designed to collect.

Honeymooners! Yeah, we were laughing over the naming protocol during that show...I've gotta find info on it; did you see it?

I was looking for the show name when I found out that the Pluto mission has detractors.

No, I didn't see the show, sounds like it was fascinating.

The nuclear protestors ammuse me. Most of them have no concept of the reality of the physics of radiation and that the odds of 1) there being and accident AND 2) that accident causing the radioactive material to be dispersed in a dangerous way are astronomically small.

Though I disagree with the argument, the protesters against these things (and they protested Cassini as well) haven't ever argued that the odds of a specific mission causing trouble is very small that as the number of missions accumulate the odds of something disastrous happening becomes more and more likely.

However, since I am a huge proponent of vastly increased use of nuclear power on Earth, I'm not really bothered by the relatively infinitesimal risk of plutonium cargo on space missions.

Feh...launch delayed due to high winds.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10878811/

I think he missed this ;)

The problem is that the protesters are not motivated by science and probability but rather by politics and the fact that their houses happen to be in the area. Much like religion and politics, probability and politics do not make good bedfellows.

D'oh! Although with the wind delays, 9 days is looking more accurate.

I read in the paper the other day about the spacecraft that went out, collected comet debris and actually brought it back!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...l/3591039.html

Delayed again, this time because the command center in Maryland lost power in a storm.

In defense of my state, is was a nasty storm. Thunder, Lighting, Dogs sleeping with cats, real rath of God type stuff....

The early results are in, and it seems it was a major success. They've unsealed the canisters and found that it does indeed contain a whole lot of trapped material, possibly over a million individual bits.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10909782/

Is this true?

Yes it's true. This man has no dick.

A successful launch, sans nuclear meltdown.

link, with video. Don't blink that thing's outta there, well, like a rocket. Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, but it seems to me that the speed difference between this launch and a shuttle launch is readily apparant (though I would presume the speed difference between this and other un-manned launches is lesser).

On an overall mission note, NASA's trying to decide whether they want to alter the flight plan slightly to include some observation of the 2 newly discovered moons around Pluto. They'd better hurry, they only have 10 years to decide.

Hummm...


Interesting tracking chart on the NASA/JPL site. Blast off from Florida, a U-Turn over Australia, a bee line for South America and WE ARE OUTTA HERE!

Hummm, Part 2.

After it's scorch-by of Jupiter next year our intrepid little probe will be cruising at a comfortable 47,000 mph in order to reach Pluto before all the mission specialists reach the age of forced retirement.

I guess that implies we won't be seeing a nice insertion orbit around Pluto. It's going to be a buzz-by at 47,000 mph. Hope they put a fast camera on that probe.

Would any of you math whizzes want to ballpark a figure on when the probe will overtake Voyager-1 and claim the title of farthest hunk-o-junk ever sent from earth?

Voyager 1 is going 16.49 km/s and has already left the building...

Hummm, Part 2.

After it's scorch-by of Jupiter next year our intrepid little probe will be cruising at a comfortable 47,000 mph in order to reach Pluto before all the mission specialists reach the age of forced retirement.

I guess that implies we won't be seeing a nice insertion orbit around Pluto. It's going to be a buzz-by at 47,000 mph. Hope they put a fast camera on that probe.

Would any of you math whizzes want to ballpark a figure on when the probe will overtake Voyager-1 and claim the title of farthest hunk-o-junk ever sent from earth?

Voyager 1 is going 16.49 km/s and has already left the building...

Hummm, Part 2.

After it's scorch-by of Jupiter next year our intrepid little probe will be cruising at a comfortable 47,000 mph in order to reach Pluto before all the mission specialists reach the age of forced retirement.

I guess that implies we won't be seeing a nice insertion orbit around Pluto. It's going to be a buzz-by at 47,000 mph. Hope they put a fast camera on that probe.

Would any of you math whizzes want to ballpark a figure on when the probe will overtake Voyager-1 and claim the title of farthest hunk-o-junk ever sent from earth?

Voyager 1 is going 16.49 km/s and has already left the building...
(Hint: Pluto exrpess will be going 21.01 km/s)

'Kay, that was funny. lol! :D

Is it going to be probing Uranus?