Headed for Pluto!

(NASA) The third time was the charm for New Horizons. Two consecutive launch attempts earlier in the week were foiled by high winds at the launch site and a power outage at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., which operates the spacecraft now that the mission is underway. Liftoff occurred at 2:00:00 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and 50 minutes after launch, the New Horizons spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle and began its journey to the edge of the solar system. New Horizons is now headed for a distant rendezvous with the mysterious planet Pluto almost a decade from now. See the NASA and Johns Hopkins University Advanced Physics Lab websites for more info.