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Solar Orbiter Encapsulated in Atlas V Payload Fairing

Inside a cleanroom, engineers in protective suits prepare the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for encapsulation in the payload fairing. The white fairing, bearing large NASA and ESA logos along with an illustration of the spacecraft, stands vertically beside the exposed satellite. The open half of the fairing lies behind the spacecraft, revealing its inner ribbed structure. Metal scaffolding and a yellow overhead crane surround the scene, highlighting the scale and precision of launch preparations.
Both halves of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing are positioned for installation around the Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 20, 2020. Photo credits: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft is prepared for encapsulation in the Atlas V payload fairing.The payload fairing that will provide a protective, aerodynamic cover for Solar Orbiter during launch is now in place. The two halves of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V fairing were moved into position and installed around the spacecraft on Jan. 20 inside a cleanroom at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida.

The fairing protects the spacecraft during ground operations and during ascent. Solar Orbiter’s instruments are sensitive to contamination, and the fairing has special provisions to make sure those instruments are not affected by particles or humidity.

Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Sun’s poles. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus Defence and Space.

Solar Orbiter will launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.