In the Mission Profile section, the article currently says "However, a lack of available plutonium means that the required orbital maneuvers for post-Pluto encounters may not be possible.". Shouldn't that read "a lack of Hydrazine monopropellant"? Or is the plutonium in the radiothermal generator also needed for maneuvering as well as electricity? Ponder 14:45, 2005 Apr 13 (UTC)
- lack of plutonium in the radiothermal generators means less operational time, in which they produce enough electicity to keep the spacecraft and its instruments operational. For Pluto flyby there is enough plutonium, but for futher KBO flybys may be not. --Bricktop 15:45, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The comment in the article is at best confusingly phrased, and at worst downright wrong (number of course corrections required won't fix the problem if the problem is lack of power). I've modified the article text to something closer to the meaning of the space.com article cited. --Christopher Thomas 17:31, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- Ok, your version is significantly better ;-) --Bricktop 21:55, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The comment in the article is at best confusingly phrased, and at worst downright wrong (number of course corrections required won't fix the problem if the problem is lack of power). I've modified the article text to something closer to the meaning of the space.com article cited. --Christopher Thomas 17:31, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- It seems that problems with plutonium fuel support were solved, read [1]. Someone should add this to the article (my english is not good enough:-) ). --Bricktop 02:43, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- I've updated the paragraph to reflect this development; thanks for the excellent research! --Christopher Thomas 05:11, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- It seems that problems with plutonium fuel support were solved, read [1]. Someone should add this to the article (my english is not good enough:-) ). --Bricktop 02:43, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Message for Aliens?
Will New Horizons also have a message for aliens on board as the Voyager Golden Record of the Voyagers?
- I haven't heard of any, but I haven't read all material about the probe. Check NASA's pages on the craft, linked from the main article. --Christopher Thomas 19:38, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Also haven't heard of any, although I wrote some parts of this article and nearly all of the german New Horizons article and therefor read large amount of NASA material about the probe. But haven't look specifically for such a "message for aliens" --Bricktop 21:45, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
You can add your name to a list that is sent with the spacecraft. That's all, I think. [2] Awolf002 18:05, 16 August 2005 (UTC)
Solid Rocket
Are there any concerns that this mission will suffer the same fate as CONTOUR? It has a similar solid rocket booster built into the spacecraft: [3] Awolf002 18:05, 16 August 2005 (UTC)