July 2015 – Page 6 – Spaceflight Now

Humanity’s first ambassador to Pluto makes historic flyby

July 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

A speedy space probe barreled past Pluto for a one-shot flyby Tuesday, becoming the first spacecraft to ever visit the frozen, reddish world at the solar system’s distant frontier.

Take a sneak peek at Pluto

July 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

Pluto’s salmon-colored surface shines in an incredible view taken Monday as New Horizons barreled toward the icy outpost for Tuesday’s historic close-up flyby.

Pluto stakes claim as ‘King of the Kuiper Belt’

July 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

Using high-fidelity modeling and image analysis to resolve Pluto’s exact shape, scientists examining pictures from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft said Monday they have confirmed Pluto is the largest known object in a frozen outer zone of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt.

Pluto probe project manager gives advice to team

July 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

New Horizons project manager Glen Fountain, a veteran of nearly 50 years at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, told the Pluto probe’s team to live in the moment for Tuesday’s historic flyby, but look out for last-minute snags.

OTD…July 13 and STS-70

July 13, 2015 Justin Ray

#OTD in 1995…Discovery launched a Tracking and Data Relay satellite

Clear sailing expected for Pluto flyby

July 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

There is no sign of an undiscovered moon lurking around Pluto in data streaming back to Earth from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, and that is surprising to Alan Stern, the scientist in charge of the probe.

See NASA’s Pluto explorer before embarkment from Earth

July 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA’s New Horizons probe, armored for a nine-year journey through the cold, inhospitable depths of space, launched in January 2006 from Cape Canaveral, and all systems are go for a flyby of Pluto Tuesday. See photos of the spacecraft before it was packaged for launch on an Atlas 5 rocket.

Cliffs, chasms and craters revealed in latest New Horizons images

July 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

The first hints of dramatic cliffs, chasms and craters are showing up in new imagery of Pluto and its Texas-sized moon Charon as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft prepares to bolt by the icy worlds Tuesday.

Preview: New GPS navigation satellite heads into space this week

July 12, 2015 Justin Ray

The Global Positioning System, its precision navigation and timing services made possible by the U.S. Air Force and provided free-of-charge to the planet’s civilian population, is a marvel of the modern world, and the orbiting network will receive a fresh satellite Wednesday.

Atlas 5/GPS 2F-10 launch timeline

July 12, 2015 Justin Ray

Follow the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. Air Force’s GPS 2F-10 navigation satellite.