NASA Probe Sends Back Signal From Ultima Thule

Engadget reports:

NASA now has proof that its New Horizons probe completed its record-setting flyby of the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule. The mission team confirmed the flypast at 10:31AM Eastern Time after receiving telemetry data indicating that the spacecraft was “healthy.”

It technically flew past Ultima Thule at about 12:33AM , but the combination of data collection and the six-hour signal travel time left the New Horizons crew waiting until much later to receive the A-OK from their pride and joy.

This marks the farthest-ever flyby in human history — at about 4 billion miles from the Sun, Ultima Thule makes Pluto seem like a next-door neighbor by comparison.