Delta 4 Heavy Selected For Launch Of Solar Probe

"A NASA spacecraft that will fly closer to the sun than any mission before will launch on a Delta 4-Heavy rocket in 2018, requiring a boost from the largest active launcher in the U.S. inventory and repeated flybys around Venus to reach an operating post inside the solar atmosphere.

As expected, NASA announced its selection of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket to dispatch the Solar Probe Plus mission from Earth. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral is set for July 31, 2018, at the opening of a 20-day launch window, NASA said in a press release.

The launch contracts value is 389.1 million, according to NASA.

The ULA team is very proud that NASA has selected the Delta 4-Heavy launch vehicle for this extraordinary science mission, said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president for Atlas and Delta programs, in a ULA press release. The Delta 4-Heavy rocket is uniquely qualified to provide the launch service for this vital science mission that will help us understand processes near the surface of the sun that affect space weather and radiation environments. We look forward to successfully delivering this critical spacecraft to orbit for NASA.

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"Solar Probe Plus will orbit the sun 24 times in its seven-year mission. Seven flybys of Venus are planned from 2018 through 2024 to reshape the spacecrafts orbit through the inner solar system, moving Solar Probe Plus to its closest point to the sun in December 2024.

Solar Probe Plus will fly 10 times closer to the sun than the planet Mercury, whizzing above the sun at speeds of 125 MILES PER SECOND. A 4.5-inch thick carbon-composite heat shield will protect the probes sensitive instrumentation and electronics from temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit."

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/03/18...f-solar-probe/

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