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Solar Orbiter: The US-European mission to explore the sun's poles in photos

By Space.com Staff
published 11 February 2020

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(Image credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter (opens in new tab), a spacecraft designed to observe the sun in incredible, scorching detail, launched to our star on Feb. 9, 2020, on a mission to try and solve some solar mysteries.

The spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10).

Full story: Solar Orbiter launches on historic mission to study the sun's poles (opens in new tab)

Page 1 of 50
Page 1 of 50
(Image credit: ESA)

This is the mission patch for Solar Orbiter. 

The $1.5 billion craft, which is a joint collaborative venture between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), will give scientists the first-ever good look at our sun's poles.

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Page 2 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter sit on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

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Page 3 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

Scientists hope that these new observations will allow them to solve some long standing mysteries about the sun. The 3,970-lb. (1,800 kg) spacecraft will fly by Venus and Earth several times to swing into a unique orbit around the sun to make these observations.

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Page 4 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

This illustration shows what Solar Orbiter might look like during its gravity assist flyby of Earth.  

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Page 5 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

This illustration shows what Solar Orbiter might look like as it flies by Venus. 

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Page 6 of 50
(Image credit: Airbus)

Solar Orbiter being loaded with propellants during processing activities inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida.

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Page 7 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The fairing of the Atlas V rocket and the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft are pictured at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations, on Jan. 21, 2020.

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Page 8 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The fairing of the US Atlas V 411 rocket with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations, on Jan. 21, 2020. 

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Page 9 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

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Page 10 of 50
(Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA)

Solar Orbiter arrived aboard an Antonov An-124 cargo plane at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility on Nov. 1, 2019. 

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Page 11 of 50
(Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA)

The booster of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket which will launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft on Feb. 9, 2020.

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Page 12 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/Airbus)

Solar Orbiter is on a work stand for processing inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida on Jan. 16, 2020. 

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Page 13 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The fairing of the Atlas V rocket and the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft are pictured at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations, on Jan. 21, 2020.

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Page 14 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The fairing of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations, on Jan. 21, 2020.

Page 15 of 50
Page 15 of 50
(Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA)

Both halves of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing are joined around Solar Orbiter in the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 20, 2020.

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Page 16 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/Airbus)

A peek inside inside of the United Launch Alliance payload fairing as it's being put around Solar Orbiter on Jan. 20, 2020. 

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Page 17 of 50
(Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA)

Solar Orbiter prepares for encapsulation in the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 20, 2020.

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Page 18 of 50
(Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA)

From above, you can see 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. 

Page 19 of 50
Page 19 of 50
(Image credit: ESA)

An artist's illustration of the ESA-NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft's mission to study the sun's polar regions.

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Page 20 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter stand ready for launch on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

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Page 21 of 50
(Image credit: Tony Gray/NASA)

Members of the Goddard Space Flight Center Solar Orbiter Collaboration Project Office, along with Launch Services Program’s (LSP) Jim Behling (back left), launch site integration manager, pose in front of the Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida.

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Page 22 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside rolled out ahead of launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2020.

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Page 23 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside rolled out ahead of launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 24 of 50
Page 24 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket with the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside rolled out ahead of launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 25 of 50
Page 25 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter sit on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 26 of 50
Page 26 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter sit on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 27 of 50
Page 27 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter sit on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 28 of 50
Page 28 of 50
(Image credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

Page 29 of 50
Page 29 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

Page 30 of 50
Page 30 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

Page 31 of 50
Page 31 of 50
(Image credit: S. Poletti/ESA)

Solar Orbiter has a suite of ten science instruments that will study the sun. The in situ instruments measure the conditions around the spacecraft itself. The remote-sensing instruments measure what is happening at large distances away. 

Page 32 of 50
Page 32 of 50
(Image credit: S. Poletti/ESA)

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft will separate from the launcher around 53 minutes after launch, followed by acquisition of spacecraft signal. In the days after launch, the instrument boom and antennas will be deployed.

Page 33 of 50
Page 33 of 50
(Image credit: S. Poletti/ESA)

During the initial cruise phase, which lasts until November 2021, Solar Orbiter will perform two gravity-assist maneuvers around Venus and one around Earth to alter the spacecraft's trajectory, guiding it towards the innermost regions of the solar system. The first close solar pass will take place in 2022 at around a third of Earth's distance from the sun. 

Page 34 of 50
Page 34 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

As part of its testing campaign to prepare for launch, the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft underwent a special set of tests in a magnetic field simulation facility near the IABG premises in Ottobrunn, Germany.

Page 35 of 50
Page 35 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter undergoes a solar array deployment test at the IABG facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany on March 21, 2019. The solar panels are suspended from above to simulate the weightlessness of space.

Page 36 of 50
Page 36 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter undergoes a solar array deployment test at the IABG facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany on March 21, 2019. The solar panels are suspended from above to simulate the weightlessness of space.

Page 37 of 50
Page 37 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter undergoes a solar array deployment test at the IABG facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany on March 21, 2019. The solar panels are suspended from above to simulate the weightlessness of space.

Page 38 of 50
Page 38 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

This image captures the scene part way through a solar array deployment test at the IABG facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany. Fully extended, the tip of the array stretches 27 feet (8.2 meters) from the spacecraft body. 

Page 39 of 50
Page 39 of 50
(Image credit: S. Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter undergoing a solar array deployment test at the IABG facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany on March 21, 2019. 

Page 40 of 50
Page 40 of 50
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

This diagram shows Solar Orbiter's scientific instruments. 

Page 41 of 50
Page 41 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The United Launch Alliance's "RocketShip" barge arrives at Port Canaveral, Florida to deliver the Atlas V first stage and Centaur upper stage from ULA's factory in Decatur, Alabama on Nov. 20, 2019.

Page 42 of 50
Page 42 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage booster is offloaded from the RocketShip transport vessel at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 21, 2019 to undergo preparations to launch Solar Orbiter on its journey to study the sun.

Page 43 of 50
Page 43 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

United Launch Alliance hoists its Atlas V onto the mobile launch platform at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, to begin preparations to launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for the European Space Agency and NASA. 

Page 44 of 50
Page 44 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

United Launch Alliance hoists its Atlas V onto the mobile launch platform at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, to begin preparations to launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for the European Space Agency and NASA. 

Page 45 of 50
Page 45 of 50
(Image credit: ULA/Twitter)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Solar Orbiter sit on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at sunset, on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 46 of 50
Page 46 of 50
(Image credit: Kim Shiflett/NASA)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft arrives at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Feb. 8, 2020.

Page 47 of 50
Page 47 of 50
(Image credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

Page 48 of 50
Page 48 of 50
(Image credit: United Launch Alliance)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

Page 49 of 50
Page 49 of 50
(Image credit: Stephane Corvaja/ESA)

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter launches atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 9, 2020, at 11:03 p.m. EST (0403 GMT on Feb. 10). 

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Page 50 of 50
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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor. 


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