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Launch Week Begins for Parker Solar Probe

Posted on 2018-08-08 05:56:29
Teams preparing for launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe are beginning a busy week leading up to liftoff, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11, at 3:33 a.m. EDT, the opening of a 65-minute window. The spacecraft will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 on Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Parker Solar Probe will provide unprecedented information about our Sun, where changing conditions can spread out into the solar system to affect Earth and other worlds. The spacecraft will fly directly into the Sun’s atmosphere where, from a distance of – at the closest approach — approximately 4 million miles from its surface, the spacecraft will trace how energy and heat move through the Sun’s atmosphere and explore what accelerates the solar wind and solar energetic particles.

The agency is holding a prelaunch mission briefing Thursday, Aug. 9, at 1 p.m. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television and at http://www.nasa.gov/live. Live launch coverage will begin Saturday, Aug. 11, at 3 a.m. For a complete schedule of mission coverage, including opportunities for media participation, visit https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/parker-solar-probe-briefings-and-events.




Seen here inside one half of its 62.7-foot tall fairing, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was encapsulated on July 16, 2018, in preparation for the move from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be integrated onto its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy.

Seen here inside one half of its 62.7-foot tall fairing, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was encapsulated on July 16, 2018, in preparation for the move from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be integrated onto its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

Parker Solar Probe, shown on July 16, 2018, is mounted atop its third stage rocket motor with one half of the 62.7-foot tall fairing that will encapsulate it. After encapsulation, the spacecraft will move from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be integrated onto its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy.

Parker Solar Probe, shown on July 16, 2018, is mounted atop its third stage rocket motor with one half of the 62.7-foot tall fairing that will encapsulate it. After encapsulation, the spacecraft will move from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be integrated onto its launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is shown here mated to its third stage rocket motor on July 16, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is shown here mated to its third stage rocket motor on July 16, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is shown here mated to its third stage rocket motor on July 16, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is shown here mated to its third stage rocket motor on July 16, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is mated to the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is mated to the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

Parker Solar Probe is lowered toward the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.

Parker Solar Probe is lowered toward the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is lifted to the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is lifted to the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
High-Res Image