Atlas 5 Rocket Set to Launch Pluto Probe

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Saturday January 14, 2006 @08:44AM from the very-edge-of-the-suburbs dept.

tmerrill writes "An unprecedented mission to the outer edges of our solar system is set to launch in 4 days, despite a launch delay. From the article: 'NASA's first spacecraft to visit the planet Pluto is set to launch no earlier than Jan. 17 atop an Atlas 5 rocket on a decade-long trip to the fringe of the Solar System ... In order to reach Pluto by 2015, the $650 million New Horizons mission must lift off this month in order to swing by Jupiter for a gravity boost. The probe's 35-day launch window, however, stretches until Feb. 14. The launch window opens on Jan. 11. Inspections of the probe's Atlas 5 booster prompted mission managers to push their launch target to no earlier than Jan. 17, NASA officials said.'" The New York Times has details as well.

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Re:Atlas V is a p*ssy rocket by LurkerXXX · 2006-01-14 12:30 · Score: 3, Insightful

And who cares how big the rocket is?
With a SaturnV you coud send a rover big enough that it wouldn't get hung up in 6" of sand like one of the Mars Rovers did. You could send a lot more instrumentation up to examine more aspects of whatever you are looking at.
There are other uses for big rockets than just sending humans into space.