ESA’s new Sun-exploring mission Solar Orbiter lofted to space aboard the US Atlas V 411 rocket from NASA’s spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:03 p.m. EST Sunday, February 9, 2020 (04:03 GMT on 10 February 2020).
Solar Orbiter, an ESA-led mission with strong NASA participation, carries a set of ten instruments for imaging the surface of the Sun and studying the environment in its vicinity. The spacecraft will travel around the Sun on an elliptical orbit that will take it as close as 42 million km (26 million miles) away from the Sun’s surface, about a quarter of the distance between the Sun and Earth. The orbit will allow Solar Orbiter to see some of the never-before-imaged regions of the Sun, including the poles, and shed new light on what gives rise to solar wind, which can affect infrastructure on Earth.
https://youtu.be/nDGwgVOwIJQ
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1 Comment
Those Russian RD180 engines make every Atlas launch questionable. And you know they are nervous and wary about the RD180. The commentary person jeeps calling out “the RD180 is performing nominally ” “and they usually say “Everything Nominal on the Atlas Vehicle” or “Vehicle Performing Nominally” or even “All Engines performing as expected” but no they are VERY specific about it. “All pumps and and pressures performing as expected” And “RD180 Performing as expected” and really wary of the RD180. And for good reason. Have fun gaining confidence in your vehicle with commentary like this. Your customers will one running to launch on a Falcon or who knows who nowadays. Its like the Wild West out there these days in Spaceflight.🤠👉👉🏜🌋