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I'd call it a hot mission!
It'll be okay, as long as they go at night. :rofl:
Looking good, though! Can't wait to see the science come back from this.
I'd call it a hot mission!
The European Space Agency has signed a contract with Astrium UK to build the satellite, for a launch in 2017.
The deal is valued at 300m euros (£245m).
:hmm: looks like Solar Probe Plus now has a companion/competitor...
Still, the heat shield is not shown protecting the solar panels during closest approach, and at the distances that they are aiming for, they'll need to do that, or will need to cool them actively.
I'm surprised it even needs solar panels when it's THAT close to the sun, couldn't you could use the heat gathered to directly generate power? (ala an RTG)
Actually you couldn't. At this distance you'll need "heat independent power" to get rid of heat. Without active powered cooling systems thing probably will reach thermal equilibrium and you won't be able to draw energy from it.
Remember that in space the only means of getting heat out is radiation or coolant venting. Also at this range solar panels would be quite efficent.
Although Solar Orbiter will fly a mere 42 million kilometers away from a sun, Solar Probe Plus is supposed to fly within six million kilometers of the sun. If anything, Solar Orbiter will not be a record holder for long. As for their orbits, Solar Probe Plus seems planned to orbit within the plane of the solar system while Solar Orbiter will have a high inclination. The mission objectives appear to overlap each other only partially, and together they will construct a better picture of the sun.:hmm: looks like Solar Probe Plus now has a companion/competitor...
They must be the two most audacious space missions currently in development.
Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus will venture inside the orbit of Mercury to study the Sun.
The temperatures on the front surfaces of these satellites will go into the high hundreds of degrees Celsius, and beyond.
You could say they are the missions to Hel