New Horizons REX: Post-Launch Checkout Raw Radio Science Data

VERSION 2.0 raw data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft's Radio Science Experiment instrument during its post-launch checkout mission phase. The dataset includes calibrations using known radio sources, Jupiter, and cold sky measurements, operational readiness tests, and internal test pattern calibration. It was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze instrument calibration stability based on known radio source and cold sky measurements.
• Assess operational readiness for prime science observations based on test data.
• Study radio signal propagation and noise characteristics from deep space.
• Validate internal calibration patterns for the Radio Science Experiment instrument.

Strengths

• Data is from a specific, documented mission phase: post-launch checkout.
• Includes multiple calibration types: known radio sources, Jupiter, and cold sky measurements.
• Is a versioned dataset (V2.0), suggesting iterative improvement.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the New Horizons Radio Science Experiment instrument.

Time Range

Post-launch checkout mission phase.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 18:45:45.692483; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Deep space, trajectory of the New Horizons spacecraft.