December 16, 2005

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

MISSION: New Horizons
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Lockheed Martin Atlas V 551 (AV-010)
LAUNCH PAD: Complex 41
LAUNCH SITE: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
LAUNCH DATE: NET Jan. 17, 2006, 1:24 to 3:24 p.m. EST

The launch of New Horizons is rescheduled for no earlier than Jan. 17, 2006. This will enable an additional inspection of the Atlas launch vehicle. The launch services contractor, Lockheed Martin, experienced problems in September on an updated Atlas propellant tank similar to the one being flown on the New Horizons mission. We continue our work based on a 35-day launch window.

• A mission rehearsal with all of the launch participants was held Thursday at the Atlas Space Operations Center.
• The spacecraft was encapsulated into the Atlas V fairing on Tuesday at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. It is being installed onto the payload transporter today. New Horizons will be moved to Launch Complex 41 on Saturday.
• The Integrated Systems Test, an integrated test of the launch vehicle and the spacecraft, is scheduled for Wednesday.

(From a NASA Kennedy Space Center news release)