spacetoday.net: Pluto launch postponed

Updated: Tue, Jan 17, 2006, 6:12 PM ET (2312 GMT)
Originally Posted: Tue, Jan 17, 2006, 5:23 PM ET (2223 GMT)
New Horizons illustration (JHUAPL)

The launch of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto was postponed Tuesday because of gusty winds. The Atlas 5 rocket carrying the spacecraft was scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral at 1:24 pm EST (1824 GMT), at the beginning of a two-hour launch window. However, high winds at the ground, coupled with other issues, including changing upper-level wind profiles, a balky valve on the launch vehicle, and ground station problems. While the other issues were resolved, the high ground-level winds persisted through the launch window, and the launch was eventually scrubbed. The launch has been rescheduled for 1:16 pm EST (1816 GMT) Wednesday, with a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather. New Horizons is the first mission to Pluto, the outermost of the nine classical planets; it will fly past the planet and its moons in mid-2015 assuming it launches by January 27. The launch window remains open through February 14, although launches late in the window would delay the spacecraft's arrival at Pluto by up to five years.