SPARKS, Nev., July 14, 2015 – Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems congratulates NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute and the entire New Horizons team on the spacecraft becoming the first to achieve a reconnaissance flyby study of the dwarf planet Pluto. SNC is proud to have participated in today’s historic achievement by supplying key components of the spacecraft’s thermal control system, which enables it to regulate its temperature in the harsh space environment.
“SNC and I would like to congratulate NASA, Alan Stern and the entire New Horizons team on over nine years of this historic mission culminating in today’s epic flyby of Pluto,” said Mark N. Sirangelo, corporate vice president of SNC’s Space Systems. “The New Horizons flyby of the Pluto System is an amazing accomplishment for the United States and NASA and we are thrilled to be a part of the team that made it happen. SNC has a history of supporting NASA missions, more than 70 in our 25-plus-year history. We are also proud to be part of the Colorado aerospace industry, which has always played a vital role in space exploration, as exemplified in the strong number of Colorado companies participating in the New Horizons mission.”
Launched in January 2006, the New Horizons mission is part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, designed to expand our knowledge of the solar system through increased exploration. New Horizons, the closest manmade object to this distant part of the solar system since Voyager 1, traversed nearly 3 billion miles over nine years to reach the Pluto System and the Kuiper Belt.
“As a world-class designer and manufacturer of space technologies, subsystems and components, SNC has supported many planetary missions,” said Bryan Helgesen, director of business development for SNC’s Space Systems. “We have a strong history of delivering space products - which includes flagship programs and nearly every journey to Mars - and we are proud to support yet another NASA mission, and look forward to future accomplishments.”
The fastest spacecraft ever launched - at a blazing speed of more than 30,000 mph - New Horizons has already encountered an asteroid, performed a flyby of Jupiter and returned the first color movies of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. The probe’s observations of Pluto will last for several weeks, at which time it will make its way into the outer solar system. With this historic achievement, the U.S. has successfully surveyed the entire solar system.
Media Contact: CommunicationsFromSNC@sncorp.com or Betsy McDonald at 775-849-6435.
About SNC
SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Our innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains – sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. We are one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and we pride ourselves on our ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of our mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Founded in 1963, SNC is owned by Chairwoman Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen.