Wilma's Wrath: Pluto-Bound Rocket Damaged By Hurricane | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.07.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.08.24 Airborne-FlightTraining-05.09.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.10.24

Tue, Nov 01, 2005

Wilma's Wrath: Pluto-Bound Rocket Damaged By Hurricane

Hangar Door Failed In Spite Of Tougher Wind Rating

That big DING! sound you heard last week came from Florida.

It was the sound of Hurricane Wilma slamming into the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's hangar housing the New Horizon Pluto probe. Specifically, it was the probe itself, sustaining damage from winds clocked at just over hurricane speed. Those winds damaged the hangar and, yes, damaged the probe.

"We're pretty confident this isn't going to be a reason to hold up the launch," said Lockheed-Martin spokeswoman Julie Andrews.

Seems winds of 76 mph were able to breach a hangar door designed to withstand gusts of twice that speed. The 200-foot tall rocket, standing vertically inside, along with some of the ground support equipment, were damaged -- but only slightly, according to Andrews.

As Aero-News reported in September, the New Horizon spacecraft, powered by 24-pounds of plutonium pellets, is scheduled to launch January 11th on a voyage that will take a decade to complete. In the process, it will fly around Jupiter two years from now to get the gravitational boost it needs to make the rest of its trip.

If there is any substantial damage, it'll have to be fixed quickly. The launch window closes February 14th.

FMI: www.pluto.jhuapl.edu

Advertisement

More News

Sierra Space Repositions Dream Chaser for First Mission

With Testing Soon Complete, Launch Preparations Begin in Earnest Sierra Space's Dream Chaser has been put through the wringer at NASA's Glenn Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, but w>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.10.24): Takeoff Roll

Takeoff Roll The process whereby an aircraft is aligned with the runway centerline and the aircraft is moving with the intent to take off. For helicopters, this pertains to the act>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.10.24)

“We’re proud of the hard work that went into receiving this validation, and it will be a welcome relief to our customers in the European Union. We couldn’t be mor>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.11.24)

"Aircraft Spruce is pleased to announce the acquisition of the parts distribution operations of Wag-Aero. Wag-Aero was founded in the 1960’s by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.11.24): IDENT Feature

IDENT Feature The special feature in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) equipment. It is used to immediately distinguish one displayed beacon target from other be>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC