[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44697-44698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15250]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (05-125)]


National Environmental Policy Act; New Horizons Mission

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement 
(FEIS) for implementation of the New Horizons mission.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA 
(40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA policy and procedures (14 CFR part 
1216 subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and issued a FEIS for the New 
Horizons mission. The FEIS addresses the potential environmental 
impacts associated with continuing the preparations for and 
implementing the mission. The purpose of the Proposed Action, that is 
NASA's Preferred Alternative, is to explore Pluto, its moon Charon, and 
possibly one or more objects within the Kuiper Belt.
    The New Horizons mission is planned for launch in January-February 
2006 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, on an 
expendable launch vehicle. With a launch in mid January 2006, the New 
Horizons spacecraft would arrive at Pluto as early as 2015 and would 
conduct scientific investigations of Pluto and its moon, Charon, as it 
flies past these bodies. The spacecraft may then continue on an 
extended mission into the Kuiper Belt, where it would investigate one 
or more of the objects found there. The spacecraft would require 
electrical power for normal spacecraft operations and to operate the 
science instruments. One radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) 
containing plutonium dioxide would be used for this purpose. A backup 
launch opportunity could occur in February 2007 with an arrival at 
Pluto in 2019 or 2020 depending upon the exact date of launch.

DATES: NASA will take no final action on the proposed New Horizons 
mission on or before September 2, 2005, or 30 days from the date of 
publication in the Federal Register of the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) notice of availability of the New Horizons 
FEIS, whichever is later.

ADDRESSES: The FEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
    (a) NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20546-0001;
    (b) The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Gibson 
Library, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723-6099. Hard copies 
of the FEIS may be reviewed at other NASA Centers (see SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below).
    Limited hard copies of the FEIS are available for distribution by 
contacting Kurt Lindstrom at the address, telephone number, or 
electronic mail address indicated below. The FEIS is also available in 
Acrobat[reg] format at http://spacescience.nasa.gov/admin/pubs/plutoeis/index.htm. NASA's Record of Decision (ROD) will also be placed 
on that Web site when it is issued. Anyone who desires a hard copy of 
NASA's ROD when it is issued should contact Mr. Lindstrom.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt Lindstrom, Mission and Systems 
Management Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, 
Washington, DC 20546-0001, telephone 202-358-1588, or electronic mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the action addressed in this 
FEIS is to further our knowledge of Pluto, the outermost known planet 
of our solar system, and its moon, Charon, and, if possible, the Kuiper 
Belt. The goal of the New Horizons mission would be to measure the 
fundamental physical and chemical properties of Pluto and Charon. 
Specifically, the New Horizons mission would acquire data to address 
the following primary scientific objectives.

--Characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and Charon.
--Map the surface compositions of Pluto and Charon.
--Characterize the neutral (uncharged) atmosphere of Pluto and its rate 
of escape.

    After the Pluto-Charon flyby and data playback is complete, the 
spacecraft may continue on an extended mission to encounter one or more 
objects within the Kuiper Belt. The remote science instrumentation 
planned for Pluto and Charon could also be used for investigations of 
the Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO).
    Pluto is the only major body within our solar system that has not 
yet been visited by spacecraft. Many of the questions posed about Pluto 
and Charon can only be addressed by a spacecraft mission that brings 
advanced instruments close to the two bodies. Scientific knowledge of 
all other planets and their moons, and thus understanding of the nature 
of the solar system, has been increased enormously through visits by 
spacecraft.
    The science to be performed at Pluto and Charon is time-critical 
because of long-term seasonal changes in the surfaces and atmospheres 
of both bodies. The objectives of surface mapping and surface 
composition mapping would be significantly compromised as Pluto and 
Charon recede from the Sun and their polar regions become increasingly 
hidden in shadow. Furthermore, as Pluto recedes from the Sun, 
substantial decline, if not complete collapse, of its atmosphere is 
widely anticipated.

[[Page 44698]]

    The recent discovery of many objects beyond Neptune in the Kuiper 
Belt has opened another dimension for this mission of exploration. 
KBOs, in stable and well-defined orbits that have never taken them 
close to the Sun, are likely to be remnants of solar system formation 
and may hold clues to the birth of the planets. Knowledge gained from 
close examination of objects in the Kuiper Belt would be of great value 
in developing theoretical models of the evolution and destiny of the 
solar system.
    The Proposed Action consists of continuing preparations for and 
implementing the New Horizons mission. The New Horizons spacecraft 
would be launched on an Atlas V 551 from CCAFS in January-February 
2006. This launch opportunity represents the best opportunity for 
achieving the time-critical science objectives at Pluto and Charon. A 
backup launch opportunity could occur in February 2007 with arrival at 
Pluto in 2019 or 2020 depending upon the exact date of launch. 
Accordingly, the only alternative that was evaluated is the No Action 
alternative.
    For the New Horizons missions, the potentially affected environment 
for a normal launch includes the area at and in the vicinity of the 
launch site, CCAFS in Florida. The environmental impacts of a normal 
launch of the mission for the Proposed Action would be associated 
principally with the exhaust emissions from the Atlas V launch vehicle. 
These effects would include: (1) Short-term impacts on air quality 
within the exhaust cloud and near the launch pad, and (2) the potential 
for acidic deposition on the vegetation and surface water bodies at and 
near the launch complex, particularly if rain occurs shortly after 
launch.
    Potential launch accidents could result in the release of some of 
the radioactive material on board the spacecraft. The spacecraft would 
have one RTG that uses plutonium dioxide to provide electrical power. 
The radioisotope inventory of the RTG would total up to approximately 
124,000 curies of plutonium.
    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with NASA, has 
performed a risk assessment of potential accidents for the New Horizons 
mission. This assessment used a methodology refined through 
applications to the Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini, and Mars Exploration 
Rover missions, and incorporates results of safety tests on the RTG and 
an evaluation of the January 17, 1997, Delta II accident at CCAFS. 
DOE's risk assessment for this mission indicates that in the event of a 
launch accident the expected impacts of released radioactive material 
at and in the vicinity of the launch area, and on a global basis, would 
be small.
    The FEIS may be examined at the following NASA locations by 
contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information Act Office:
    (a) NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (650-604-
1181).
    (b) NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, PO Box 273, Edwards, CA 
93523 (661-276-2704).
    (c) NASA, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, 21000 Brookpark 
Road, Cleveland, OH 44135 (216-433-2755).
    (d) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, 
MD 20771 (301-286-4721).
    (e) NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 
4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (818-354-5179).
    (f) NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (281-483-8612).
    (g) NASA, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 (321-867-9280).
    (h) NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681 (757-864-
2497).
    (i) NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812 (256-
544-1837).
    (j) NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2118).
    NASA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS 
(DEIS) for the New Horizons mission in the Federal Register on February 
25, 2005 (70 FR 9387), and made the DEIS available in electronic format 
on its Web site. The EPA published its NOA in the Federal Register on 
February 25, 2005 (70 FR 9306). In addition, NASA published its NOA in 
local newspapers in the Cape Canaveral, Florida regional area, and held 
public meetings in Cocoa, Florida on March 29 and 30, 2005, during 
which attendees were invited to present both oral and written comments 
on the DEIS. No comments relevant to the DEIS were presented at either 
meeting. NASA received 967 written comment submissions, both hardcopy 
and electronic, during the comment period ending April 11, 2005. The 
comments are addressed in the FEIS.

Jeffrey E. Sutton,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure and Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-15250 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
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