News Archive / Tagged: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

• Conference keeps focus on Pluto following New Horizons flyby

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 23rd, 2019

  LAUREL, MD. -- A four-day science conference organized by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Universities Space Research Association (USRA), and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) held July 14-18 focused on findings obtained by the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew by the Pluto system in 2015 and Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule in 2019.

• New Horizons’ departure images shed new light on Ultima Thule’s shape

  Laurel KornfeldFebruary 11th, 2019

  A new set of New Horizons flyby images taken on New Year's Day 2019 reveals Ultima Thule is shaped more like a flat object.

• New Horizons signals successful flyby of Ultima Thule

  Laurel KornfeldJanuary 1st, 2019

  The New Horizons team recieved signals confirming a tiny spacecraft raced by a small world to complete the farthest exploration of any Solar System object.

• New study rejects IAU rationale for demoting Pluto

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 13th, 2018

  Is Pluto a planet? A new study questions the controversial decision that was handed down by the International Astronomical Union.

• Parker Solar Probe heat shield installed

  Curt GodwinJuly 7th, 2018

  Engineers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab recently attached the Parker Solar Probe's 160-pound (72.6-kilogram) thermal protection system, or heat shield, to the body of the spacecraft in preparation for its launch, scheduled for no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018.

• NASA selects finalists for next New Frontiers mission

  Curt GodwinDecember 22nd, 2017

  Choosing from a field of twelve proposals, NASA has recently whittled the group down to two finalists for the agency's next New Frontiers mission. Receiving the nod to receive additional funding and study in 2018 were missions to Saturn's moon Titan and the recent European Space Agency (ESA) target, Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

• Engine burn refines New Horizons’ journey to KBO 2014 MU69

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 12th, 2017

  To optimize the timing of New Horizons' closest flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69, mission engineers carried out the spacecraft's last engine burn during the long "cruise" phase of its journey – between Pluto and its second target (MU69) – on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017.

• Wakened from its latest hibernation, New Horizons may visit additional Kuiper Belt Objects

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 16th, 2017

  Newly awakened from a five-month hibernation, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft may visit a third Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) after flying by 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1, 2019. Mission scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) received confirmation from NASA's Deep Space Network in Madrid, Spain, that the probe exited hibernation mode on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017.

• Parker Solar Probe details revealed

  Paul KnightlyJune 1st, 2017

  NASA announced on May 31, 2017, a groundbreaking new mission to explore the Sun at close range. The Parker Solar Probe will launch in 2018 and will spend nearly seven years spiraling in toward the Sun, utilizing Venus for seven gravitational assists before making its closest approach of about 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers) from the Sun's surface.

• Solar Probe Plus gets green light to proceed

  Curt GodwinAugust 4th, 2016

  NASA's Solar Probe Plus has passed an important design review milestone and can now proceed to assembly and integration in preparation for its scheduled summer 2018 launch date. Currently comprising only a primary structure and propulsion system, the assembly can now move forward with the installation of the remainder of the spacecraft's systems and science instruments.