Solar Orbiter (SolO) – Atlas V 411 – Canaveral SLC-41 – 10.02.2020 – 07:05 ДМВ

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ESA's Solar Orbiter@ESASolarOrbiter 11:44 AM - Jan 31, 2020

Launch update @NASA @esa @Airbus @ulalaunch now targeting 9 Feb (23:03 EST)/10 Feb (04:03 GMT/05:03 CET) for launch of #SolarOrbiter

More info https://blogs.nasa.gov/solarorbiter/2020/01/31/new-solar-orbiter-launch-date/ ...

European media event now on 10  Feb http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Call_for_Media_Solar_Orbiter_launch_to_face_the_Sun ...#WeAreAllSolarOrbiters

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Компания ULA опубликовала буклет миссии

solarorbiter_mob.pdf - 5.0 MB, 2 стр, 2020-01-31

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Tory Bruno✔@torybruno 4:54 PM - Jan 31, 2020

#SolarOrbiter is at the VIF. Weather looks good for mate

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https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/new-mission-will-take-first-peek-at-sun-s-poles

Jan. 27, 2020

New Mission Will Take 1st Peek at Sun's Poles


Animation of a portion of Solar Orbiter's highly inclined orbit.
Credits: ESA/ATG medialab


A simulation of a solar eruption hitting Earth's magnetic field.
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio/Community-Coordinated Modeling Center
Download high-res file

A new spacecraft is journeying to the Sun to snap the first pictures of the Sun's north and south poles.

Solar Orbiter, a collaboration between the European Space Agency, or ESA, and NASA, will have its first opportunity to launch from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 7, 2020, at 11:15 p.m. EST. Launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the spacecraft will use Venus's and Earth's gravity to swing itself out of the ecliptic plane — the swath of space, roughly aligned with the Sun's equator, where all planets orbit. From there, Solar Orbiter's bird's eye view will give it the first-ever look at the Sun's poles.

"Up until Solar Orbiter, all solar imaging instruments have been within the ecliptic plane or very close to it," said Russell Howard, space scientist at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. and principal investigator for one of Solar Orbiter's ten instruments. "Now, we'll be able to look down on the Sun from above."

"It will be terra incognita," said Daniel Müller, ESA project scientist for the mission at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. "This is really exploratory science."

The Sun plays a central role in shaping space around us. Its massive magnetic field stretches far beyond Pluto, paving a superhighway for charged solar particles known as the solar wind. When bursts of solar wind hit Earth, they can spark space weather storms that interfere with our GPS and communications satellites — at their worst, they can even threaten astronauts.

To prepare for arriving solar storms, scientists monitor the Sun's magnetic field. But their techniques work best with a straight-on view; the steeper the viewing angle, the noisier the data. The sidelong glimpse we get of the Sun's poles from within the ecliptic plane leaves major gaps in the data.

"The poles are particularly important for us to be able to model more accurately," said Holly Gilbert, NASA project scientist for the mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "For forecasting space weather events, we need a pretty accurate model of the global magnetic field of the Sun."

The Sun's poles may also explain centuries-old observations. In 1843, German astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe discovered that the number of sunspots — dark blotches on the Sun's surface marking strong magnetic fields — waxes and wanes in a repeating pattern. Today, we know it as the approximately-11-year solar cycle in which the Sun transitions between solar maximum, when sunspots proliferate and the Sun is active and turbulent, and solar minimum, when they're fewer and it's calmer. "But we don't understand why it's 11 years, or why some solar maximums are stronger than others," Gilbert said. Observing the changing magnetic fields of the poles could offer an answer.

The only prior spacecraft to fly over the Sun's poles was also a joint ESA/NASA venture. Launched in 1990, the Ulysses spacecraft made three passes around our star before it was decommissioned in 2009. But Ulysses never got closer than Earth-distance to the Sun, and only carried what's known as in situ instruments — like the sense of touch, they measure the space environment immediately around the spacecraft. Solar Orbiter, on the other hand, will pass inside the orbit of Mercury carrying four in situ instruments and six remote-sensing imagers, which see the Sun from afar. "We are going to be able to map what we 'touch' with the in situ instruments and what we 'see' with remote sensing," said Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla, NASA deputy project scientist for the mission.

After years of technology development, it will be the closest any Sun-facing cameras have ever gotten to the Sun. "You can't really get much closer than Solar Orbiter is going and still look at the Sun," Müller said.

Over the mission's seven year lifetime, Solar Orbiter will reach an inclination of 24 degrees above the Sun's equator, increasing to 33 degrees with an additional three years of extended mission operations. At closest approach the spacecraft will pass within 26 million miles of the Sun.

To beat the heat, Solar Orbiter has a custom-designed titanium heat shield with a calcium phosphate coating that withstands temperatures over 900 degrees Fahrenheit — thirteen times the solar heating faced by spacecraft in Earth orbit. Five of the remote-sensing instruments look at the Sun through peepholes in that heat shield; one observes the solar wind out to the side.

Solar Orbiter will be NASA's second major mission to the inner solar system in recent years, following on August 2018's launch of Parker Solar Probe. Parker has completed four close solar passes and will fly within four million miles of the Sun at closest approach.

The two spacecraft will work together: As Parker samples solar particles up close, Solar Orbiter will capture imagery from farther away, contextualizing the observations. The two spacecraft will also occasionally align to measure the same magnetic field lines or streams of solar wind at different times.

"We are learning a lot with Parker, and adding Solar Orbiter to the equation will only bring even more knowledge," said Nieves-Chinchilla.

Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between the European Space Agency and NASA. ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands manages the development effort. The European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Germany will operate Solar Orbiter after launch. Solar Orbiter was built by Airbus Defense and Space, and contains 10 instruments: nine provided by ESA member states and ESA. NASA provided one instrument suite, SoloHI and provided detectors and hardware for three other instruments.

Banner Image: An animation of Solar Orbiter peering at the Sun through peepholes in its heat shield. Credits: ESA/ATG medialab

By Miles Hatfield
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Last Updated: Jan. 28, 2020
Editor: Miles Hatfield

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Tory Bruno✔@torybruno 10:38 PM - Jan 31, 2020

#SolarOrbiter is resting serenely atop Mighty Atlas

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https://www.ulalaunch.com/explore/blog-detail/blog/2020/01/31/solar-orbiter-joined-to-atlas-v-for-launch-to-sun

Solar Orbiter joined to Atlas V for launch to sun
Jan 31, 2020, 12:40 PM

Solar Orbiter has been hoisted atop its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will launch the spacecraft to the sun for repeated close encounters and detailed observations over the next decade.



The spacecraft will examine how the sun creates and controls the heliosphere, the vast bubble of charged particles blown by the solar wind into the interstellar medium. Solar Orbiter also will combine in situ and remote sensing observations to gain new information about the solar wind, the sun's magnetic field and solar energetic particles.
 
In the predawn darkness today, the encapsulated payload traversed from the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, through Kennedy Space Center and over to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) were the Atlas V rocket was assembled for launch.
 
The VIF crane raised the payload atop the Centaur upper stage for attachment to complete the 189-foot-tall rocket.
 
The trip was delayed two days by a scheduling conflict with a commercial mission from a nearby launch complex and inclement weather.
 
Launch is targeted for Sunday, Feb. 9 during a two-hour window extending from 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 UTC) to 1:03 a.m. EST (0603 UTC).

The 850,150-pound Atlas V rocket will accelerate Solar Orbiter to 27,000 mph on an Earth departure trajectory to the inner solar system. The spacecraft will reside in an elliptical orbit and make a close approach of the sun every six months, swinging by within 26 million miles of the star's surface.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/01/decades-in-the-making-solar-orbiter-finally-meets-launcher-at-cape-canaveral/

Decades in the making, Solar Orbiter finally meets launcher at Cape Canaveral
February 1, 2020 | Stephen Clark


The Solar Orbiter spacecraft, cocooned inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload shroud, was attached atop the Atlas 5 launcher Friday after an early morning departure fr om a nearby payload processing facility. Credit: United Launch Alliance

The European-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft was installed on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 launcher Friday at Cape Canaveral, ready for final charging and checkouts before liftoff Feb. 9 to finally begin a more than $1.5 billion science mission first approved by the European Space Agency nearly 20 years ago.

Scientists are eager for the unprecedented images and data Solar Orbiter will beam back to Earth, including the first-ever views of the sun's poles.

"It will be terra incognita," said Daniel Müller, project scientist for the mission at the European Space Agency. "This is really exploratory science."

"The sun is an extremely dynamic astronomical body," said César García, ESA's project manager for the Solar Orbiter mission. "It's constantly ejecting mass, ejecting charged particles and ejecting magnetic fields into where we are, into the heliosphere.

"The purpose of this mission is looking at these very dynamic phenomena, and trying to determine what makes them happen," García said.

But it's been a long wait. Scientists first developed the concept for the Solar Orbiter mission in 1999, and ESA approved the project in 2000 for additional studies. At that time, officials expected the mission to be ready for launch between 2008 and 2013.

After a decade of concept studies, and the start of a new partnership with NASA, ESA formally selected Solar Orbiter in 2011 for full-scale development, with a launch scheduled in 2017.

But technical difficulties in building the Solar Orbiter spacecraft delayed the mission to 2020.

The nearly 3,900-pound (1,750-kilogram) spacecraft was transferred by truck from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, early Friday and arrived at ULA's Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad several hours later. Teams there hoisted the Solar Orbiter spacecraft — already enclosed inside its 4-meter (13.1-f0ot) payload shroud — atop an Atlas 5 launcher.


The Solar Orbiter spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing Jan. 20. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft's mating with its launch vehicle was delayed two days this week, first by a SpaceX launch from the nearby Complex 40 launch pad Wednesday, which prevented the payload transfer to the VIF due to safety concerns because of the close proximity between the pads. Poor weather Thursday prevented Solar Orbiter from rolling out to the VIF on Thursday, but conditions improved for the transfer operation Friday.

The delays in attaching Solar Orbiter to its Atlas 5 launcher forced officials to push back the mission's liftoff from Feb. 7 to Feb. 9. The two-hour launch window Feb. 9 opens at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10).

The launch was originally slated for Feb. 5, but a technical issue discovered during a practice countdown on the Atlas 5 rocket prompted a two-day schedule slip to Feb. 7.

Solar Orbiter has launch opportunities through Feb. 23, or else wait until a backup launch period in October. The mission has limited launch windows because it must depart Earth on a trajectory toward Venus, which plays a major role in reshaping Solar Orbiter's trajectory around the sun to set it up for the start of its science mission.

Over the past few weeks, teams at Astrotech have loaded the Airbus-built spacecraft with a quarter-ton of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants. Then technicians encapsulated the spacecraft inside the Atlas 5's nose cone, which is emblazoned with logos for the Solar Orbiter mission, ESA and NASA.

While ESA leads the Solar Orbiter mission, NASA is paying for the probe's launch, and there is one U.S.-led instrument on the spacecraft.

With the launch of Solar Orbiter, scientists will soon have two spacecraft observing the sun from locations closer than any previous mission.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe launched in August 2018 on a trajectory that takes it closer to the sun than Solar Orbiter. But Solar Orbiter carries cameras and telescopes, while Parker flies so close to the sun that scorching temperatures could damage, or destroy, sensitive imaging sensors.

And Solar Orbiter will circle the sun at a higher tilt than Parker, allowing views of the sun's poles.

"Solar Orbiter will go into a unique location moving out of the sun-Earth plane and be able to, for the first time, image the poles of the sun, so it's adding a whole new dimension to what we're able to do now," said Nicky Fox, director of NASA's heliophysics division.

The first good look at the sun's poles will come in 2025, when Solar Orbiter reaches a trajectory angled at 17 degrees to the ecliptic plane, the plane in which the solar system's planets are located. Repeated flybys with Venus will gradually ratchet up the probe's inclination, or orbital tilt, thanks to the planet's gravity.

By 2029, after the end of Solar Orbiter's primary mission phase, the spacecraft should be in an orbit inclined more than 33 degrees to the ecliptic plane, enabling even better views of the sun's poles.


Artist's concept of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Credit: ESA

The Solar Orbiter mission, also known as SolO, is the next in a line of large-scale solar research mission developed in collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA. It follows the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, mission launched in 1995, and the Ulysses probe launched in 1990 to study the sun's polar regions for the first time.

Ulysses ceased operating in 2009, but SOHO continues collecting data and imagery to measure the sun's output and help forecasters predict the impacts of solar storms, which could affect satellite navigation, communication and electrical grids on Earth.

"SOHO has shown tremendous resilience and lifetime," said Günther Hasinger, director of ESA's science program. "SOHO is still one of the backbones of space weather prediction. At some time in the future, SOHO will no longer work. There was Ulysses originally, then SOHO. We also have a number of small missions like the Proba 2 and Proba 3 missions, which are dedicated to solar research.

"But Solar Orbiter is clearly a new class in its own," Hasinger said in a recent interview with Spaceflight Now. "It has loads of instruments, which will go not as close as Parker Solar Probe, but quite close. Solar Orbiter will also have eyes. Parker Solar Probe can only sense and measure the plasma and the magnetic field, but Solar Orbiter also has six instruments that can really look at the sun."

Fitted with 10 science instruments, Solar Orbiter will swing inside the orbit of Mercury and travel as close as 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) from the sun, about a quarter of Earth's distance from the sun. Temperatures encountered by Solar Orbiter could reach nearly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 530 degrees Celsius, according to Anne Pacros, Solar Orbiter's mission and payload manager at ESA.

"It's like being in a pizza oven, so you have to make sure that you don't burn the instruments," Hasinger said.

Solar Orbiter will see solar heating 13 times that experienced by a satellite in Earth orbit. Engineers developed a heat shield to protect the spacecraft from the hot temperatures, including sliding doors for the probe's camera and telescopes.

The heat shield is made of several layers of titanium, the outermost of which is covered in a coating named "Solar Black," which was specifically invented for the Solar Orbiter mission.

"We developed this black coating which is able to withstand about 500 degrees Celsius (more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit)," García said. "It is installed in a way that is separate from the spacecraft so that theres no conduction of heat from the very hot surface on the heat shield to the rest of the spacecraft."

"The mission had three main requirements for the heat shield covering," said Andrew Norman, an ESA materials engineer.

"Firstly, it had to keep the same colour during years of exposure to intense solar flux, including high ultraviolet radiation — the mission team would have loved a white coating, to reflect back more solar energy, but testing showed it would darken unacceptably over time," Norman said in an ESA press release. "So we settled on black, to keep its thermo-optical properties stable over the mission lifetime.

"Secondly, it had to be electrically conductive, to prevent any build-up of static from interaction with the solar wind — which might do damage to the spacecraft by discharging," Norman said. "Finally, there could be no outgassing or shedding of particles, which might endanger the mission's instrument lenses, mirrors and sensitive surfaces."


The Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space

But existing paints and coatings could not satisfy all three requirements for the Solar Orbiter mission, and leaving the heat shield's titanium structure bare was not a good option.

ESA turned to a special method for coating titanium medical implants with artificial bone — which allows the implants to better bond with the human skeleton — to solve the Solar Orbiter heat shield conundrum.

"Our rationale was that it is always challenging to coat materials well, and titanium, while being a standard material for space, poses particular difficulties," said Laurent Pampaguian, an ESA materials specialist.

An Irish company named Enbio uses the coating technique in medical applications, using a process named "co-blast" to strip away oxide layers on metal implants to help with attaching electrical connections, while simultaneously spraying an artificial bone-like material to coat the device. Enbio says the process allows the spray-on material to become chemically bonded to to the implant, creating a thin coating just a few thousandths of a millimeter thick.

Enbio supplied ESA with black coatings for testing, including graphite, silicon carbide and pyrolytic carbon. They eventually turned to another bone product commonly used in the Stone Age.

"I recalled cavemen used burnt bone for cave painting, along with charcoal — and its durability is proved by the fact the paintings survive to this day," said John O'Donoghue, managing director at Enbio. "We found a U.S. company called Ebonex who produce a char bone pigment — they burn the bone in low oxygen, then crush it, so all the fat and tissue is gone, leaving only elemental carbon.

"It turned out the pigment already had space heritage, having been employed by NASA," O'Donoghue said in an ESA press release.

The bone-based coating passed a stringent series of tests, and engineers eventually selected it for Solar Orbiter's heat shield. Officials named the new coating "Solar Black."

The Solar Black layer was added to more parts of the spacecraft, and ESA and Airbus paid for a dedicated facility — named the Enbio Space Technologies Center — in Ireland to coat larger elements of the probe, such as its high-gain antenna, according to ESA.

Enbio ended up developing a second coating, called "Solar White," to spray on top of the black material for certain parts of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, such as thermal radiators, the edges of its solar arrays, and an instrument boom, ESA said.

Around 80 percent of the spacecraft is covered with either Solar Black or Solar White, according to ESA.


Solar Orbiter's suite of ten science instruments that will study the sun. There are two types: in situ and remote sensing. The in situ instruments measure the conditions around the spacecraft itself. The remote-sensing instruments measure what is happening at large distances away. Together, both sets of data can be used to piece together a more complete picture of what is happening in the sun's corona and the solar wind. Credit: ESA-S.Poletti

"What we want to do with Solar Orbiter is to understand how our star creates and (produces) this constantly-changing environment throughout the solar system," said Yannis Zouganelis, ESA's deputy project scientist for the mission. "We have big questions we want to answer."

"There are still mysteries around our understanding of the energy sources in the sun that produces the magnetic field and solar flares," Hasinger said. "A lot of people now think that some of the mysteries are actually hidden in the poles, which we have never seen. So the hope is that if we are able to observe the poles in a very accurate way, then we may understand better how the magnetic field is created and transported. In particular, the 11-year solar cycle seems to be linked to things that are happening on the poles."

The Ulysses mission, thanks to a boost into a highly-inclined orbit from Jupiter's gravity, carried instruments that measured the environment over the sun's poles. But Ulysses did not have cameras, and it never flew closer to the sun than Earth.

Solar Orbiter will take around a half-year to complete one lap around the sun. At times, the spacecraft's velocity relative to the sun will closely match the rate of the star's rotation.

"So it's almost like a geostationary satellite which always looks at the same spot of the sun for 10 days in a row," Hasinger said. "That means you can really follow the development much more accurately and see how the magnetic field structures are developing."

Scientists hope to learn more about the inner workings of stars by looking at the sun. But there's also a tangible benefit, officials said.

"It is indeed a golden age for solar terrestrial physics," Hasinger said. "It's also, I think, an age wh ere we are slowly moving from the scientific analysis to the understanding of space weather, and also space weather forecasting.

"So I think the whole element of space weather will become very important, not just for the environment of the Earth and the technical infrastructure, but also when you want to send astronauts to the moon and to Mars, space weather is a very important element," Hasinger told Spaceflight Now.

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https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/atlas-v-solar-orbiter

LAUNCH WEBCAST

The live launch webcast begins Sunday, Feb. 9 at 10:30 p.m. EST (0330 UTC)

Прим. адрес трансляции будет опубликован позже.

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https://www.ulalaunch.com/explore/blog-detail/blog/2020/02/03/meet-the-truly-unique-atlas-v-411-rocket

Meet the truly unique Atlas V 411 rocket
Feb 3, 2020, 11:35 AM

It has the outward appearance like no other rocket, but the unique Atlas V 411 vehicle launching Solar Orbiter is tailored to the performance needed to achieve the Earth departure trajectory for making repeated close encounters with the sun.



NASA selected this rocket to launch the craft as part of an international collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), which will operate Solar Orbiter on its decade-long mission to fly just 26 million miles from the sun for observations.
 
This Atlas V configuration appears special because it has only one solid-fuel booster mounted to its side, turning conventional wisdom upside down. Rockets normally fly with either no strap-on boosters or else multiple motors.
 
How can a such a seemingly unbalanced launch vehicle fly properly?
 
The answer starts with the solid rocket booster's stationary nozzle. It is aligned with the overall rocket's center of gravity, and the Atlas V's dual-nozzle main engine provides ample control authority to steer the rocket smoothly through the sky.
 
The steering actuators on the main engine counteract the asymmetrical thrust from the single solid to enable the rocket to fly straight, mitigating the offset thrust.
 
The philosophy for using the 411 configuration is found in the original Atlas V designs. The rocket was created using a "dial-a-rocket" approach to match a particular payload's needs to make the rocket not too strong and not too weak, providing just the right amount of power for Solar Orbiter.



This 411 variant has flown five times since 2006, all successfully, to launch the ASTRA 1KR television satellite, two missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft to the Asteroid Bennu and the U.S. military's SBIRS GEO Flight 4 missile surveillance satellite.
 
While the appearance is stark, the unevenness of the SRB arrangement is not unusual for Atlas V. Several other configurations launch successfully with unbalanced numbers of boosters attached to the first stage, like the 551 version with three on one side and two on the other.
 
Solar Orbiter will leave the launch pad atop 1.2 million pounds of thrust from the Atlas V main engine and lone solid. The SRB will burn for about 90 seconds, while the first stage engine will fire for four minutes.
 
Two burns by the Centaur upper stage achieves escape velocity, propelling Solar Orbiter to 27,000 mph for deployment less than an hour after liftoff.

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Tory Bruno✔@torybruno 5:36 AM - Feb 3, 2020

#SolarOrbiter remains on track. Preparations complete for IST.


The Pope of the Church of Jim@CR15PYbacon 5:59 AM - Feb 3, 2020

What's IST?


] Tory Bruno✔@torybruno 6:02 AM - Feb 3, 2020

Integrated Systems Test. (We do a lot of testing before a launch. Kind of obsessive about making sure everything is working before committing to flight...)

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https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-to-broadcast-solar-orbiter-launch-prelaunch-activities

Jan. 31, 2020

NASA to Broadcast Solar Orbiter Launch, Prelaunch Activities
NASA's Launch Services Program is targeting 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 9, for the launch of Solar Orbiter, an international collaborative mission between the European Space Agency and NASA. Live coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency's website Friday, Feb. 7 with prelaunch events.





Solar Orbiter will observe the Sun with high spatial resolution telescopes and capture observations in the environment directly surrounding the spacecraft to create a one-of-a-kind picture of how the Sun can affect the space environment throughout the solar system. The spacecraft also will provide the first-ever images of the Sun's poles and the never-before-observed magnetic environment there, which helps drive the Sun's 11-year solar cycle and its periodic outpouring of solar storms.





Full mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):





Friday, Feb. 7


News Media Schedule


1 – 2 p.m.                          Prelaunch news conference

[/li]
• Tim Dunn, Launch Director, NASA Launch Services Program
  
• Cesar Garcia, Solar Orbiter Project Manager, European Space Agency
  
• Haydée M. Maldonado, NASA Solar Orbiter Collaboration (SOC) Project Manager, Goddard Space Flight Center
  
• Ian Walters, Project Manager Solar Orbiter, Airbus Defence and Space
  
• Scott Messer, NASA LSP Program Manager, United Launch Alliance
  
• Jessica Williams, 45th Space Wing Weather Officer
  

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                Science Briefing

[/li]
• Daniel Mueller, Solar Orbiter Project Scientist, European Space Agency
  
• Nicky Fox, Director, NASA Heliophysics Division
  
• Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate
  
• Guenther Hasinger, Director of Science, European Space Agency
  

Saturday, Feb. 8





10 – 11 a.m.                                 Solar Orbiter Rollout Viewing (UCS-3)


Media who would like to attend the Solar Orbiter rollout must RSVP by noon on Tuesday, Feb. 4 to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. There is a limit of 30 media for this opportunity and spots will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis.


Sunday, Feb. 9


11:03 p.m.                                   Launch





NASA TV Launch Coverage


NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10:30 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.


NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage


Prelaunch and launch coverage of the Solar Orbiter mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 10:30 p.m. as the countdown milestones occur. 


Last Updated: Jan. 31, 2020
Editor: Danielle Sempsrott

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 Geoff Barrett @GeoffdBarrett 3:32 AM - Feb 5, 2020

As @ChrisG_NSF pointed out there is MAJOR potential for a double header launch on Sunday!#Antares #Cygnus #AtlasV #SolarOrbiter

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Solar Orbiter Trailer

NASA Goddard

4 февр. 2020 г.

Solar Orbiter is the ESA/NASA collaboration soon to start its journey to the Sun. Solar Orbiter has uniquely tilted orbit that will enable it to capture the first images of the Sun's North and South poles and tackle major solar mysteries with its comprehensive suite of ten different instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZaDQRKd8ORg (1:17)

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Tory Bruno✔@torybruno 5:48 AM - Feb 5, 2020

#SolarOrbiter testing for today successful. Tiger Team walk down went well. On track to fly.

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Feb 05 16:34

Weather 80% GO for Sunday night



The initial forecast from Launch Weather Officer Jessica Williams for Sunday night's 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 UTC) launch of Atlas V and Solar Orbiter indicates an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions.

"For Sunday evening, high pressure moves off the southeast coast turning the winds onshore from the east. This will bring a few clouds but precipitation chances are near 0 percent. Therefore, the primary concern for launch is the Cumulus Cloud Rule," the launch weather team says.

The operations forecast includes a few low- and mid-level clouds, scattered high cirrus, good visibility, easterly winds 15 peaking to 22 knots and a temperature near 67 degrees F.

If the launch is postponed to Monday night's window, there is a 70 percent chance of good conditions. The onshore flow will increase the chance of clouds and a slight chance of a rain shower at the coast.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/solarorbiter/2020/02/05/solar-orbiter-spacecraft-attached-to-atlas-v-rocket-for-upcoming-launch/

Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Attached to Atlas V Rocket for Upcoming Launch

Danielle Sempsrott
Posted Feb 5, 2020 at 12:28 pm


The United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing, containing the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, is hoisted up by crane at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Jan. 31, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Final preparations are underway for the launch of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, at 11:03 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Following its Jan. 20 encapsulation inside the payload fairing at Astrotech's processing facility in Titusville, the spacecraft was transported to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 on Jan. 31.


Inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers assist as the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing, containing the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, is lowered onto the company's Atlas V rocket on Jan. 31, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

The spacecraft, secured inside the fairing, was lifted by crane and vertically installed to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The rocket will remain inside the VIF until the day before launch, when it will then roll out to the launch complex in preparation for liftoff.

Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Sun's poles. NASA's Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus Defence and Space.