BRUCE BUCKINGHAM: This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 35 minutes and counting.
The Atlas V rocket which will be carrying the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto is poised and ready to
fly from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Launch remains on schedule for 1:24 p.m. Eastern time.
The countdown is progressing very smoothly with no technical concerns being addressed by the
launch team at this time. Topping to the flight levels for the cryogenic tanks on both the Atlas and the
Centaur stages is now in work. Coming up is a tape that describes the role of the Launch Services Program and the role that
it is played in preparations for this particular mission. This tape runs about five minutes.
The New Horizons mission to Pluto. Why would NASA go? What rocket does it take
to get there, and what does it take to get ready for launch day?
Music.
I'm Darren Bedell, one of the two chief
engineers on the Launch Services Program. The job of the Launch Services Program is to enable the
success in the Pluto New Horizons mission. That job started over five years ago when the mission was in
the early formulation phases. It's kind of like this view of the launch pad behind me that's far off in the
distance. As time went on, the vision got closer and closer to reality. My name is Mike Stelzer. I'm the
mission integration manager for the New Horizons mission, NASA's first journey to Pluto and the Kuiper
Belt. The reason we're going to Pluto is we have not yet explored that region of our solar system. For
years, Pluto was thought to be the only planet or object out there in this Kuiper Belt region, but recently,
within the past 10 to 15 years, scientists have been discovering more and more of these objects, so
on this mission we hope to not only visit Pluto, but one or two of these Kuiper Belt objects beyond Pluto.
One of the exciting things about this mission is we'll be launching the fastest moving object we ever had.
On Apollo days, it took about three days to get to the moon. For this mission, we'll be passing the moon
later that evening, we'll be passing Mars orbit in a little over three months, and then onward to Jupiter in a
year. Early on, my role is to work with the Launch Service Program engineering and integration team to
understand the requirements that are needed by the spacecraft. To do this, we met with the Applied
Physics Lab and with Boeing to understand their spacecraft, their observatory and the third stage to
understand those requirements and make sure we're capturing them properly, and the design and build of
the launch vehicle, to make sure all those items work together properly on ascent. This took a number of
meetings and telecons and get-togethers over the last two to three years. The hope is to drive that risk
so low that we'll have a very successful mission on launch day. Now that you've learned
something about the spacecraft and the management aspects, here's something about the rocket which
will send it on its way. My name is David Solberger and I'm the vehicle systems engineer for Atlas V. This
is a model of the Atlas 551 launch vehicle. It is the most powerful rocket in the Atlas V family. We
specifically chose this rocket because of its power. Pluto is a long distance away and we
needed the energy to get there in a reasonable timeframe. The Pluto New Horizons spacecraft is located
here within the payload fairing. There are many unique aspects of this mission. The first is the use of a
five-meter payload fairing on the United States government mission. The second are the newly designed
avionics also located within the payload fairing that control the rocket. The third are the solid rocket
boosters that have been redesigned to improve reliability. It has required a large engineering team, over
90 engineers from the Launch Services Program, as well as other NASA centers have been involved.
Every aspect of this rocket has been reviewed and analyzed to ensure a safe mission. I am truly proud
to have led the engineering team. The spacecraft and rocket can't get to Pluto by themselves. Here are
some of the talented and dedicated engineers who made it possible. My name is Sarah Quach and I've
been out of college for two years. My mentor, Rich Thompson, has been teaching me what it takes to
upgrade a rocket with new avionics. The new avionics package that we'll be flying on this mission include
a new guided suite as well as the new FTS receiver. I'm Dawn Trout. My team members and I analyzed
electro-magnetic compatibility between the launch vehicle avionics and between those avionics and the
launch site radars. This is similar to making sure that your cell phone doesn't interview with your stereo
equipment. I'm Jason Chiou and I assess the design of the five-meter payload fairing for its
ability to accommodate New Horizons' unique requirements and to separate properly during the mission.
I'm Dr. Ayman Abdallah. As vibration engineers, Tim Widrick, Chris Gerace, and I have determined the vibration loads of the New
Horizons spacecraft and the Atlas V vehicle. We have done this by using mathematical models and
running computer simulations of liftoff on other major flight events. Our goal is to ensure that the
spacecraft and the launch vehicle would survive the accelerations and the forces of the launch into space.
James Wood and I are the two chief engineers for the program. Our job is to assess the
technical work performed by Lockheed Martin and NASA engineers. The technical evaluation of the Atlas
V 551 was extensive; in fact, it was the biggest job of our careers. With five solids, the Atlas was extended
to its design limits requiring additional modifications, qualification testing and analysis. I supported the
early evaluation of the mission by identifying risks and strategies as the rocket was procured from
industry. James has done most of the technical decision making since then by conducting more than 100
engineering review boards. But together, we have evaluated close to 500 items for this
mission. NASA is ready for the launch of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. It's almost time. Go Atlas.
Go Centaur.
Music.