WEBVTT

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BRUCE BUCKINGHAM: From the Atlas Space Operations Center at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,

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this is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus two hours and holding.

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Operations here at the ASOC, or the Atlas Space Operations Center, again at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, are going well today for

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the launch of the New Horizons mission to our furthest named planet Pluto.

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NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will be launched aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V vehicle. Liftoff remains scheduled to occur on time today at

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1:24 p.m.

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Eastern time from Launch Complex 41. Our window today extends for one hour and 59 minutes.

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About 20 minutes ago we had a weather briefing from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's 45th weather squadron and the weather continues

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to look good as it has for the past several days.

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The forecast at launch time, we're looking for some clouds. They should be thinning over the next several hours.

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No rain is in the forecast and we're expecting winds to be from the south with approaching gusts up to 30 knots.

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Temperatures at launch time are going to be in the mid-70s here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. So as far as weather goes,

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everything looks green.

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Also, we're not looking at any technical issues at this point, so everything continues to be on schedule with all aspects of our

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launch management in place here at the ASOC.

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The managers have been here for several hours now monitoring the consoles and staying in touch with the activities as they progress

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at the launch pad.

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NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moon, Charon.

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No spacecraft has ever visited the planet and not even the Hubble Space Telescope, as powerful as it is, can spot the details on

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Pluto's rocky, icy surface.

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New Horizons will cross the entire span of our solar system and conduct fly-by studies of Pluto and Charon in the year 2015.

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There are seven science instruments on the probe and they will shed light on the planet's surface properties, geology,

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the interior makeup, and atmosphere.

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Again, everything continues to go well today. We have a number of holds that will be conducted over the next few minutes and

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throughout the count activity.

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Following in the next few minutes, we will have our center director, Jim Kennedy, come over and talk to us about the mission.

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And he has a special item that he will be showing us that will be flying to Pluto on this spacecraft.

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At T-minus two hours and holding, this is Atlas Launch Control.

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