Missions to the Sun: NASA's Solar Probe Plus and ESA's Solar Orbiter

[Arrowstar]

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.

 

[Notebook]

Solar Orbiter (SolO) satellite.

UK industry to build Solar Orbiter satellite.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17743190

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).

Looks like they are getting a bargain there!

N.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

: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.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

: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.

Close but not quite: this orbiter will observe the Sun as close as 60 solar radii = 0.284 AU (Mercury is at 0.308 AU at perihelion). SP+ is going for as close as 0.04 AU (don't think it was attempted before).

 

[NovaSilisko]

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)

 

[Loru]

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.

 

[NovaSilisko]

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.

Ah, makes sense... I wonder how they'll stop the panels from melting, though?

 

[Loru]

Either active liquid cooling or [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling"]thermoelectric cooling[/ame] (both require some radiators in shade). Or maybe combination of both.

Surelly it will be formidable engineering challange.

 

[Urwumpe]

You could also use a truncated cone shaped spacecraft and a stirling engine or thermoelectric device (would be more ineffective though, despite the lack of moving parts) for generating power - the small side towards the sun, the broad side towards space...

 

[Ajaja]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIp39XN-hZE
Start looking from 2:05. It's may be interesting challenge for Orbiter players (especially for TransX experts)

 

[SolarLiner]

Seems like we not only need TransX, but Trajectory Optimisation Tool to achieve a so-complex trajectory. Seems intresting though

 

[Unstung]

Compared to the British mission, Solar Probe Plus will use tiny panels to generate electricity when it approaches the corona and hide its larger array behind the heat shield.

:hmm: looks like Solar Probe Plus now has a companion/competitor...

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.

The article says that Solar Orbiter will be taken high above the plane of the solar system so it can observe the sun's poles. Ulysses did this by going all the way out to Jupiter and using a gravity assist, but never got very close to the sun. While Solar Probe Plus was planned to fly by Jupiter to decrease its perihelion but will now use multiple flybys of Venus, there is no mention of how Solar Orbiter will get into its orbit on Wikipedia or elsewhere after a quick search.

EDIT: Solar Orbiter's trajectory was posted right above my post. The video also includes information about the spacecraft's heat shield and how the solar arrays and other parts of it will handle the temperature.

 

[Notebook]

ESA Solar Orbiter, NASA Solar Probe Plus.

Not due for launches till 2018/2017, but always good to start early...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32069216

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

N.

 

[Unstung]

I merged all three similar threads and renamed the title to reflect Notebook's decision to cover both missions in one thread. The redirects expire in a week.

 

[boogabooga]

On Wednesday, Solar Probe Plus was officially renamed Parker Solar Probe. This is the first NASA probe named after a living person.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Parker

Parker Solar Probe is due to launch next summer.

 

[RGClark]

Nasa’s hotly anticipated solar mission renamed to honour astrophysicist Eugene Parker.
Renamed the Parker Solar Probe to honour solar astrophysicist who predicted high speed solar wind, the spacecraft will attempt to get close to sun’s surface.
Wednesday 31 May 2017 07.08 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/science...ticipated-mission-to-the-sun-solar-probe-plus

Bob Clark

 

[Unstung]

"Cutting-Edge Heat Shield Installed on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe"

The launch is scheduled for no earlier than August 4.

 

[Nicholas Kang]

The pre-launch briefing was held yesterday!

 

[Unstung]

"Prepping to Launch for the Sun"

Aw, what a cute little probe.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

"Prepping to Launch for the Sun"

Aw, what a cute little probe.

I'm surprised they didn't cut down the length of the fairing some. It'd save, what, a few hundred pounds, probably, but that'd be a little extra kick.