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Pluto spacecraft

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.



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Mars probe leaves Earth

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter lifts off aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.



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Launch of Atlas 5!

The fifth Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasts off to deploy the Inmarsat 4-F1 mobile communications spacecraft into orbit. (2min 35sec file)

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Extended launch movie

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)

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Onboard camera

An onboard video camera mounted to the Atlas 5 rocket's first stage captures this view of the spent solid-fuel boosters separating.

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Press site view

This view of the Atlas 5 launch was recorded from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. (1min 27sec file)

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Atlas 5 preview

Preview the launch of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Inmarsat 4-F1 communications spacecraft with this narrated animation package. (3min 47sec file)

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Launch of Atlas 5

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)

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Press site view

The sunrise launch of Atlas 5 is shown in this view from the Kennedy Space Center press site at Complex 39. (QuickTime file)

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Rocket rollout

Riding on its mobile launching platform, the Atlas 5 rocket is rolled from its assembly building to the launch pad at Complex 41 just hours before the scheduled liftoff time carrying AMC 16. (4min 41sec file)

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Atlas 5 planetary launch windows for New Horizons

BY JUSTIN RAY

SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: November 29, 2005

Editor's note: Two-hour opportunities to launch the New Horizons spacecraft aboard the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket are available daily from January 11 through February 14, 2006. This 35-day period is dictated by alignment of the planets and the energy necessary to send the spacecraft from Earth to Pluto. A launch in the first 23 days puts New Horizons on a trajectory to swing past Jupiter for a gravity sling-shot that speeds the travel to Pluto. But Jupiter will move out of alignment during the final 12 days of the period, causing the spacecraft to miss its Jupiter encounter and adding more time to reach Pluto. So earlier is better for launching New Horizons! A back-up launch period is available in February 2007, offering two weeks to send New Horizons on a direct-to-Pluto route for arrival in 2019 or 2020. Date Window Open Window Close Pluto Arrival Jan. 11 2:07:34 p.m. 4:07:34 p.m. 2015 1907:34 GMT 2107:34 GMT Jan. 12 1:59:55 p.m. 3:59:55 p.m. 2015 1859:55 GMT 2059:55 GMT Jan. 13 1:52:48 p.m. 3:52:48 p.m. 2015 1852:48 GMT 2052:48 GMT Jan. 14 1:46:07 p.m. 3:46:07 p.m. 2015 1846:07 GMT 2046:07 GMT Jan. 15 1:39:01 p.m. 3:39:01 p.m. 2015 1839:01 GMT 2039:01 GMT Jan. 16 1:30:53 p.m. 3:30:53 p.m. 2015 1830:53 GMT 2030:53 GMT Jan. 17 1:23:10 p.m. 3:23:10 p.m. 2015 1823:10 GMT 2023:10 GMT Jan. 18 1:15:35 p.m. 3:15:35 p.m. 2015 1815:35 GMT 2015:35 GMT Jan. 19 1:07:52 p.m. 3:07:52 p.m. 2015 1807:52 GMT 2007:52 GMT Jan. 20 12:59:54 p.m. 2:59:54 p.m. 2015 1759:54 GMT 1959:54 GMT Jan. 21 12:51:09 p.m. 2:51:09 p.m. 2015 1751:09 GMT 1951:09 GMT Jan. 22 12:43:10 p.m. 2:43:10 p.m. 2015 1743:10 GMT 1943:10 GMT Jan. 23 12:36:00 p.m. 2:36:00 p.m. 2015 1736:00 GMT 1936:00 GMT Jan. 24 12:27:02 p.m. 2:27:02 p.m. 2015 1727:02 GMT 1927:02 GMT Jan. 25 12:19:07 p.m. 2:19:07 p.m. 2015 1719:07 GMT 1919:07 GMT Jan. 26 12:11:16 p.m. 2:11:16 p.m. 2015 1711:16 GMT 1911:16 GMT Jan. 27 12:03:08 p.m. 2:03:08 p.m. 2015 1703:08 GMT 1903:08 GMT Jan. 28 11:53:34 a.m. 1:53:34 p.m. 2015 1653:34 GMT 1853:34 GMT Jan. 29 11:35:30 a.m. 1:35:30 p.m. 2016 1635:30 GMT 1835:30 GMT Jan. 30 11:27:23 a.m. 1:27:23 p.m. 2016 1627:23 GMT 1827:23 GMT Jan. 31 11:19:24 a.m. 1:19:24 p.m. 2016 1619:24 GMT 1819:24 GMT Feb. 1 11:03:17 a.m. 1:03:17 p.m. 2017 1603:17 GMT 1803:17 GMT Feb. 2 10:55:25 a.m. 12:55:25 p.m. 2017 1555:25 GMT 1755:25 GMT Feb. 3 2:20:32 p.m. 4:20:32 p.m. 2018 1920:32 GMT 2120:32 GMT Feb. 4 2:12:27 p.m. 4:12:27 p.m. 2018 1912:27 GMT 2112:27 GMT Feb. 5 2:04:28 p.m. 4:04:28 p.m. 2018 1904:28 GMT 2104:28 GMT Feb. 6 1:56:26 p.m. 3:56:26 p.m. 2018 1856:26 GMT 2056:26 GMT Feb. 7 1:48:11 p.m. 3:48:11 p.m. 2018 1848:11 GMT 2048:11 GMT Feb. 8 1:40:07 p.m. 3:40:07 p.m. 2018 1840:07 GMT 2040:07 GMT Feb. 9 1:54:03 p.m. 3:54:03 p.m. 2019 1854:03 GMT 2054:03 GMT Feb. 10 1:44:05 p.m. 3:44:05 p.m. 2019 1844:05 GMT 2044:05 GMT Feb. 11 1:35:10 p.m. 3:35:10 p.m. 2019 1835:10 GMT 2035:10 GMT Feb. 12 1:25:45 p.m. 3:25:45 p.m. 2019 1825:45 GMT 2025:45 GMT Feb. 13 1:48:44 p.m. 3:48:44 p.m. 2020 1848:44 GMT 2048:44 GMT Feb. 14 1:38:44 p.m. 3:38:44 p.m. 2020 1838:44 GMT 2038:44 GMT

Data source: NASA







