Suggested Searches

Parker Solar Probe

    The Parker Solar Probe Mission

    Parker Solar Probe Mission Patch.

    NASA's Parker Solar Probe will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, our closest star. The spacecraft will use seven Venus flybys and 24 orbits over nearly seven years to gradually reduce its orbit around the Sun. The spacecraft will come close to 4 percent of the distance from the Sun to the Earth, and closer to the Sun's surface than any spacecraft before it.

    The spacecraft will fly into part of the Sun's atmosphere, known as the corona, for the first time. The spacecraft will use four instrument suites designed to study electric and magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles, as well as image the solar wind. The mission will trace how energy moves through the solar corona and explore what accelerates the solar wind and solar energetic particles, enabling critical contributions to our ability to forecast changes in Earth's space environment that impact life and technology on our planet.

    Read Full Post

    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Ready to Launch Aboard ULA Delta IV Heavy Rocket

    : The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a mission to study to Sun is seen as the Mobile Service Tower gantry at Space Launch Complex 37 rolls back on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

    Good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket stands ready for liftoff at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Delta IV will launch NASA’s Parker Solar Probe on its journey to the Sun, venturing closer than any spacecraft before it. Launch is targeted for 3:53 a.m. EDT.

    Read Full Post

    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Ready for Launch Atop Delta IV Heavy Rocket

    An illustration of Parker Solar Probe passing Venus.

    Today is launch day for NASA's Parker Solar Probe, as it begins its journey to the Sun. Everything is set for launch of the pioneering spacecraft at 3:53 a.m. EDT on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Stay tuned, launch coverage will begin at 3 a.m.

    Read Full Post

    New Target Launch Time

    The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket stands ready to boost NASA's Parker Solar Probe on a mission to study the Sun

    The launch team is targeting 3:53 a.m. EDT for liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The countdown is in progress at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37.

    Read Full Post

    Parker Solar Probe Proceeds Toward Launch Aug. 11

    Illustrated spacecraft close to the Sun.

    The Parker Solar Probe mission and launch teams today concluded a successful Launch Readiness Review. There are no technical issues being worked at this time. Teams are proceeding for liftoff on Saturday, Aug. 11, at 3:33 a.m. EDT. On a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe.

    Read Full Post

    Launch Week Begins for Parker Solar Probe

    Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been mated to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 on July 31, 2018.

    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.

    Read Full Post

    Parker Solar Probe Launch Window Extended to August 23

    An illustration showing the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft — a flat shield facing the Sun, with instruments and antennae on the other side, near the Sun, which has solar material ejecting off of it.

    NASA and its mission partners have analyzed and approved an extended launch window for Parker Solar Probe until Aug. 23, 2018 (previously Aug. 19). The spacecraft is scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 11, 2018, at 3:48 a.m. with a window of 45 minutes.

    Read Full Post

    Parker Solar Probe Attached to ULA Delta IV Heavy, Prepped for Mission to the Sun

    An artist rendition of NASA's Parker Solar Probe observing the sun.

    NASA's Parker Solar Probe, secured inside its payload fairing, was moved July 30, 2018, from nearby Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The following day, the spacecraft was lifted and attached to the top of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility.

    Read Full Post