New Horizons Back 'Online' After Glitch
After giving its ground handlers a scare last week when it went out of contact for a brief while, New Horizons will return to normal science operations on Tuesday, NASA said.
According to NBC News, New Horizons lost contact on Saturday due to a timing flaw while it was performing an operation to prepare for July 14 Pluto flyby. The spacecraft came back online in 'Safe Mode' with its backup computer, half-hour later.
"I'm pleased that our mission team quickly identified the problem and assured the health of the spacecraft. Now - with Pluto in our sights - we're on the verge of returning to normal operations and going for the gold," said Jim Green, NASA's Director of Planetary Science.
NASA claims it can only gradually bring the spacecraft to normal operations as transmitting signals to the spacecraft and receiving response is time-consuming.
"Adding to the challenge of recovery is the spacecraft's extreme distance from Earth. New Horizons is almost 3 billion miles away, where radio signals, even traveling at light speed, need 4.5 hours to reach home. Two-way communication between the spacecraft and its operators requires a nine-hour round trip," NASA said in a press release.
New Horizons is around six million miles away from Pluto and is expected to make its historic flyby on July 14. The spacecraft will also observe Pluto's natural satellites and is expected to answer several questions about what was once a planet of the solar system.
