Solar Orbiter

Solar Orbiter

Artist's impression of the Solar Orbiter orbiting the Sun
Mission type	Solar heliophysics orbiter
Operator	ESA / NASA
COSPAR ID	2020-010A
SATCAT no.	45167
Website	www.esa.int
Mission duration	7 years (nominal) + 3 years (extended)[1][2] Elapsed: 4 years, 3 months and 30 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Airbus Defence and Space
Launch mass	1,800 kg (4,000 lb)[3]
Payload mass	209 kg (461 lb)[4]
Dimensions	2.5 × 3.1 × 2.7 m (8 × 10 × 9 ft)[3]
Power	180 watts[3]
Start of mission
Launch date	10 February 2020, 04:03 UTC[5]
Rocket	Atlas V 411 (AV-087)[6]
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Entered service	November 2021 (start of main mission)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Heliocentric
Regime	Elliptic orbit
Perihelion altitude	0.28 au[6]
Aphelion altitude	0.91 au
Inclination	24° (nominal mission) 33° (extended mission)
Period	168 days
Epoch	?
Main
Type	Ritchey–Chrétien reflector
Diameter	160 mm
Focal length	2.5 m
Wavelengths	Visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays
Instruments EPD Energetic Particle Detector EUI Extreme Ultraviolet Imager MAG Magnetometer METIS Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy Coronagraph PHI Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager RPW Radio and Plasma Waves SolOHI Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager SPICE Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment STIX X-ray Spectrometer/Telescope SWPA Solar Wind Plasma Analyser
Insignia for the Solar Orbiter mission. Cosmic Vision ← CHEOPS Euclid →

The Solar Orbiter (SolO)^[7] is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun which is difficult to do from Earth. These observations are important in investigating how the Sun creates and controls its heliosphere.

SolO makes observations of the Sun from an eccentric orbit moving as close as ≈60 solar radii (R_S), or 0.284 astronomical units (au), placing it inside Mercury's perihelion of 0.3075 au.^[8] During the mission the orbital inclination will be raised to about 24°. The total mission cost is US$1.5 billion, counting both ESA and NASA contributions.^[9]

SolO was launched on 10 February 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA). The nominal mission is planned until the end of 2026, with a potential extension until 2030.