Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Mission · Kuiper belt & beyond

New Horizons

Flyby spacecraft

Status
Extended mission
Launched
19 Jan 2006
Target
Kuiper belt
Agencies
NASA, JHU APL, SwRI
Next
2028–2029 — leaves the Kuiper belt; search for a new flyby target continues

Summary

Flew past Pluto (2015) and the Kuiper belt object Arrokoth (2019). It is the only working spacecraft in the Kuiper belt.

Now as of 3 Nov 2026

The extended mission runs until the spacecraft leaves the Kuiper belt, expected in 2028–2029. The search for a new flyby target goes on: in June 2026 the team reported 294 new Kuiper belt objects from a survey with the Subaru Telescope (Subaru Users Meeting 2026, PDF). Funding was debated for a long time (Universe Today).

Key dates

  1. 19 Jan 2006Launch (Atlas V)done
  2. 14 Jul 2015Pluto flybydone
  3. 1 Jan 2019Arrokoth flybydone
  4. 2028–2029Leaves the Kuiper beltexpected

Timeline

  1. Jun 2026294 new Kuiper belt objects found in the search for a target — Subaru UM 2026