BRUCE BUCKINGHAM: From the Atlas Space Operations Center at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
this is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus two hours and holding.
Operations here at the ASOC, or the Atlas Space Operations Center, again at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, are going well today for
the launch of the New Horizons mission to our furthest named planet Pluto.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will be launched aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V vehicle. Liftoff remains scheduled to occur on time today at
1:24 p.m.
Eastern time from Launch Complex 41. Our window today extends for one hour and 59 minutes.
About 20 minutes ago we had a weather briefing from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's 45th weather squadron and the weather continues
to look good as it has for the past several days.
The forecast at launch time, we're looking for some clouds. They should be thinning over the next several hours.
No rain is in the forecast and we're expecting winds to be from the south with approaching gusts up to 30 knots.
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,
everything looks green.
Also, we're not looking at any technical issues at this point, so everything continues to be on schedule with all aspects of our
launch management in place here at the ASOC.
The managers have been here for several hours now monitoring the consoles and staying in touch with the activities as they progress
at the launch pad.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moon, Charon.
No spacecraft has ever visited the planet and not even the Hubble Space Telescope, as powerful as it is, can spot the details on
Pluto's rocky, icy surface.
New Horizons will cross the entire span of our solar system and conduct fly-by studies of Pluto and Charon in the year 2015.
There are seven science instruments on the probe and they will shed light on the planet's surface properties, geology,
the interior makeup, and atmosphere.
Again, everything continues to go well today. We have a number of holds that will be conducted over the next few minutes and
throughout the count activity.
Following in the next few minutes, we will have our center director, Jim Kennedy, come over and talk to us about the mission.
And he has a special item that he will be showing us that will be flying to Pluto on this spacecraft.
At T-minus two hours and holding, this is Atlas Launch Control.