View Single Post
  #1  
Old January 30th 06, 04:50 PM posted to sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default New Horizons Setting Course for Jupiter

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

New Horizons Setting Course for Jupiter
January 30, 2006

New Horizons successfully performed its first
trajectory correction maneuver, tabbed "TCM-1A," on
Jan. 28. The 4-minute, 36-second thruster firing
changed New Horizons velocity by just under 5 meters
per second -- and also gave the team a chance to
calibrate and validate the spacecraft's propulsion
system in preparation for a slightly larger maneuver
set for 2 p.m EST today.

Together the two maneuvers begin to refine the
spacecraft's path toward Jupiter, allowing New
Horizons to accurately hit a Jupiter Gravity Assist
"aim point" that sets up a July 14, 2015, arrival
date at Pluto.