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Pluto New Horizons archive |
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More pictures, video from New Horizons launch
As we wrap up the launch portion of our New Horizons coverage, we have posted some additional photo galleries of the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasting off. Also, various replays of the launch from pad cameras and ground trackers are available with the live liftoff audio and commentary in our Spaceflight Now Plus premium service.
 IMAGES: LOCKHEED MARTIN (part 1)
IMAGES: LOCKHEED MARTIN (part 2) - new!
IMAGES: SPACEFLIGHT NOW'S PHOTOS
IMAGES: NASA'S LAUNCH PICTURES - new!
VIDEO COVERAGE
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
 VIDEO:
THE ATLAS 5 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE SMALL | MEDIUM | LARGE
VIDEO:
LAUNCH PAD BASE CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO:
FACING THE FLAME TRENCH PLAY
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CLOSE-UP OF BOOSTERS AT IGNITION PLAY
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CAMERA ON ATLAS 5 ASSEMBLY HANGAR PLAY
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ROOF OF SPACE SHUTTLE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
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TRACKER MONITORS ENGINES DURING FLIGHT PLAY
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THE UCS 15 GROUND TRACKING CAMERA PLAY
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PLAYALINDA BEACH TRACKER FOLLOWS ROCKET PLAY
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TRACKER SHOWS THE VEHICLE'S ROLL PROGRAM PLAY
VIDEO:
VIEW FROM SHUTTLE COUNTDOWN CLOCK PLAY
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Probe sets sail on voyage to the outer solar system
A supercharged Atlas 5 rocket carrying NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons probe roared to life and vaulted away from Earth Thursday on a three-billion-mile, nine-year voyage to the frigid edge of the solar system.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates
IMAGES: ATLAS 5 ON THE PAD
IMAGES: LAUNCH OF NEW HORIZONS!
IMAGES: MORE LAUNCH PHOTOS
VIDEO COVERAGE
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
LIFTOFF OF NEW HORIZONS! SHORT | LONGER
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LAUNCH AS SEEN FROM THE PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO:
ALL FIVE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS JETTISON PLAY
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NEW HORIZONS IS DEPLOYED FROM THIRD STAGE PLAY
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POST-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH NASA LAUNCH MANAGER PLAY
VIDEO:
WATCH POST-LAUNCH NEWS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
AUDIO:
LISTEN TO THE NEWS CONFERENCE FOR iPOD
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Maryland storms delay New Horizons launch
Already running a day behind because of high winds in Florida, NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission was grounded Wednesday by storms in Maryland that knocked out power to the spacecraft control center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory near Washington.
FULL STORY
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
NARRATED FOOTAGE OF ATLAS 5'S LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO:
NARRATED FOOTAGE OF NEW HORIZON'S CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO:
FIRST LAUNCH ATTEMPT IS SCRUBBED PLAY
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Pluto-bound probe rolls out to the pad on eve of launch
A grand adventure to explore the outer frontier of the solar system was moved to the launch pad Monday morning for the final day of preparations leading to blastoff.
FULL STORY
IMAGES: MONDAY MORNING'S ROLLOUT
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
ATLAS 5 ROCKET ROLLS TO PAD WITH NEW HORIZONS PLAY
VIDEO:
TIME-LAPSE VIDEO OF THE ROLLOUT PLAY
VIDEO:
SUNDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
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ANIMATED ATLAS 5 LAUNCH PREVIEW WITH NARRATION PLAY
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NEW HORIZONS SCIENCE BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO:
SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS BRIEFING-PART 1 DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO:
SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS BRIEFING-PART 2 DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
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First mission to 9th planet
New Horizons was built to become the first robotic explorer to visit Pluto and probe the Kuiper Belt in the outskirts of the planetary neighborhood. Check out this highly-detailed five-part preview story examining NASA's New Horizons mission.
FULL REPORT
LAUNCH GROUND TRACK
THE SCIENCE GOALS
SPACECRAFT FACT SHEET
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
NEW HORIZONS MOUNTED ATOP THE ATLAS 5 PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACECRAFT TRAVELS TO ROCKET ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO:
MISSION LOGO APPLIED TO THE ATLAS 5'S FAIRING PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACECRAFT ENCAPSULED WITHIN ROCKET NOSE CONE PLAY
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Probe nears launch on mission of pure exploration
It is astronomers' insatiable quest to examine the conditions billions of years ago when the planet of our solar system were forming that pushes NASA's first robotic mission to Pluto. But political bickering has stonewalled the program for years, postponing an attempt to reconnoiter the frigid worlds never reached by humanity.
MISSION OVERVIEW
VIDEO COVERAGE
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Pluto spacecraft moved to Atlas assembly building
The Pluto New Horizons probe was delivered to the Atlas 5 rocket's assembly building Saturday morning for mating with its ride to space.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 17]
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
PLUTO NEW HORIZONS MOUNTED ATOP THIRD STAGE PLAY
VIDEO:
BOEING DELIVERS THIRD STAGE DESPITE STRIKE PLAY
VIDEO:
FINAL SRB ATTACHED TO THE ATLAS 5 ROCKET PLAY
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SPACECRAFT UNDERGOES SPIN BALANCE TESTING PLAY
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Extra rocket checks postpone Pluto launch
Launch of the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft is being delayed so engineers can perform precautionary boroscope inspections of the Atlas 5 rocket's first stage fuel tank.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 16]
ONE YEAR AGO: ATLAS 5 LAUNCHES AMC 16
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Launch pad rehearsal completed for Pluto mission
Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket returned to its processing hangar from the launch pad Tuesday, ending a successful three-day countdown dress rehearsal and marking the start of the next phase in this time-sensitive pre-launch campaign for NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 6]
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
 VIDEO:
ATLAS 5 FIRST STAGE ERECTED PLAY | Preview
VIDEO:
CENTAUR UPPER STAGE ADDED PLAY | Preview
VIDEO:
STRAP-ON SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS PLAY | Preview
VIDEO:
THE PROBE'S NUCLEAR POWER SOURCE PLAY | Preview
VIDEO:
THE SPACECRAFT ARRIVES AT THE LAUNCH SITE PLAY
VIDEO:
PLUTO NEW HORIZONS IN CAPE CLEANROOM PLAY
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Atlas 5 rocket simulates countdown for Pluto launch
The Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket and its launch team successfully accomplished the countdown dress rehearsal Monday, hitting the simulated target liftoff time. This rocket will launch NASA's New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto next month.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 5]
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Pluto probe's rocket rolls out for launch test
The Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket that will launch NASA's New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto next month was on the move this morning, traveling from its vehicle assembly building to the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 for a practice countdown.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 4]
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Strike doesn't hold up Pluto probe's kick motor
Boeing workers delivered a modified Delta 2 rocket third stage to the New Horizons processing facility at Kennedy Space Center as scheduled today despite a strike by some workers. The solid-fuel motor will give the spacecraft the needed push for its voyage across the solar system.
FULL STORY [Posted: Dec. 1]
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Atlas 5 gets new booster
Preparations continue for January's launch of the New Horizons spacecraft from the Cape. The replacement solid rocket booster was attached to the Atlas 5 this week, and Lockheed Martin is gearing up for the countdown dress rehearsal that begins Sunday.
FULL STORY [Posted: Nov. 30]
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Damage prompts booster replacement for Pluto probe
Lockheed Martin technicians are replacing one of the solid-fuel boosters attached to the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch NASA's New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto because of damage the motor sustained during Hurricane Wilma.
FULL STORY [Posted: Nov. 2]
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After reaching Lockheed Martin's Vertical Integration Facility following the early morning drive across the Cape, a crane lifts the New Horizons spacecraft into the 30-story building for mounting atop the awaiting Atlas 5 vehicle.
The New Horizons spacecraft, mounted atop a special transporter, departs Kennedy Space Center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility after spending three months in the building undergoing testing, final closeouts, filling of its hydrazine fuel, mating with the third stage kick motor and spin-balance checks. The probe was driven to the Atlas 5 rocket's assembly building at Complex 41 for mating with the launcher.
With New Horizons enclosed within the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket's nose cone, a large decal reading: "New Horizons: Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission" is applied to the payload fairing.
The New Horizons is packed away for its launch to Pluto as workers slide the two-piece Atlas 5 rocket nose cone around the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The Swiss-made shroud protects the spacecraft during ascent through Earth's atmosphere.
The first robotic space mission to visit the distant planet Pluto and frozen objects in the Kuiper Belt is explained by the project's managers and scientists in this NASA news conference from the agency's Washington headquarters on Dec. 19.
The Pluto New Horizons spacecraft, destined to become the first robotic probe to visit Pluto and its moon Charon, arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in advance of its January blastoff.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter lifts off aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.
The fifth Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasts off to deploy the Inmarsat 4-F1 mobile communications spacecraft into orbit. (2min 35sec file)
An extended length clip follows the Atlas 5 launch from T-minus 1 minute through ignition of the Centaur upper stage and jettison of the nose cone. (6min 43sec file)
An onboard video camera mounted to the Atlas 5 rocket's first stage captures this view of the spent solid-fuel boosters separating.
This view of the Atlas 5 launch was recorded from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. (1min 27sec file)
The Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket launches at 7:07 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral carrying the AMERICOM 16 communications spacecraft. (6min 22sec file)