NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that the Solar Orbiter project is set to fly on February 7. The specific launch window is at 11:15 PM EST on said date, only up to 1:15 AM on Feb. 08 as the close of the launch window.
The spacecraft will have this window of opportunity on February 5, extending for 19-days that will place the Solar Orbiter in a slingshot path. It is expected to reach Venus by December, placing it its path that will send Orbiter bypassing the sun in close orbit.
Inspections teams for the ULA, found crucial cooling ducts connected to the upper stage booster unit at the Cape Canaveral Complex 41 launch pad. A wet dress rehearsal is a part of the pre-launch stage that propellants are provided for the booster rockets. Checking how ready the Atlas 5 rocket is, may tell how prepared is the ULA launch teams.
The Atlas 5 rocket is positioned into the hanger, after it was rolled out for tests. Launch technicians re-attached the umbilical cord connecting the rocket and the mobile launching pad when strong winds might remove the duct attachment.
On Thursday, the rocket was replaced in pad 41, following procedures that are related to countdown demonstrations on Friday. Teams pumped in liquid nitrogen into a mobile launcher, then right after the exercise it was returned to where it was docked. Currently, the Atlas 5 is docked at VIF, south of pad 41 where the Solar Orbiter will be brought for attachment to the rocket.
Solar Orbiter used to insert in the Atlas 5 payload chamber in the Astrotech payload processing facility near Titusville. When the launch is set, it will be inserted in the Atlas 5's streamlined shroud and be transferred to pad 41 on top of the rocket.
The mission profile of the launch will use the 411 layouts, with 4-meter fairings, and one solid booster unit. Equipped with single RL10 engine, a Centaur upper stage uses that engine. When the Solar Orbiter launches, this vehicle will bring it into the upper atmosphere. This February 7 launch will be its 82nd flight since 2002 and the 6th mission profile with the 411 layouts of the Atlas 5.
The significance of the mission includes capturing data and images with the NASA's Parker Solar Probe and knowing the origin of the solar wind. Another objective is to probe what the solar cycle is, and why it takes 11 years for that. Slung by the gravitation of Venus, it will speed and tilt at an angle to capture images of the sun's poles. One of the first views by humankind, of its fiery heat that lies in the center of the solar system.
Scientists will have eyes in the cosmos watching our sun and get first-hand data which makes it one of the most resilient spacecraft ever made. Working in tandem with the Parker Solar Probe, more data can be gleaned. Next to Parker Solar Probe, shielding its instruments from excessive heat is an achievement in itself.
