New Horizons Launches to Pluto

Launched from NASA headquarters in Cape Canaveral, the New Horizons spacecraft began its nine year journey to our most distant planet Pluto. Withing nine hours of its launched it reach the moon and it is expected to reach the gas giant in the year 2007. New Horizons is one of the fasted spacecraft ever built, using an Atlas V 551 rocket, with a Boeing Star 48B third stage rocket to increase its heliocentric escape speed. The craft can attain speeds of over 75,000 kilometers per hour and will fly within 10,000 kilometers of Pluto. Pluto is the only remaing planet not to have had close up images. Scientists hope this mission will uncover many of the mysteries concering the planet. Once New Horizons passes Pluto is will also visit other Kuiper Belt Objects.