Pluto-bound spacecraft ends hibernation to start mission
After nine years and a journey of 4.8 billion km, NASA's New Horizons robotic probe awoke from hibernation on Saturday to begin an unprecedented mission to study the icy dwarf planet Pluto and sibling worlds in its Kuiper Belt home.
A pre-set alarm clock roused New Horizons from its electronic slumber at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), though ground control teams didn't receive confirmation until just after 9:30 p.m. (0230 GMT on Sunday).
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