NASA Launches Spacecraft That’ll Fly Closer Than Ever to the Sun

The Parker Solar Probe is the first NASA satellite that is named after someone alive.

The Parker Solar Probe rocketed away from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on Sunday, 12 August.

Image Courtesy: NASA TV

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft, that will fly closer than ever to the sun, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on Sunday, 12 August,

It's on an unprecedented quest that will take it straight through the edges of the corona, or the outer solar atmosphere, just 6 million kilometers from the sun's surface.

Protected by a revolutionary new heat shield, the spacecraft will fly past Venus in October. That will set up the first solar encounter in November. Altogether, it will make 24 close approaches over the next seven years.

Thousands of spectators jammed the launch site, including 91-year-old astrophysicist Eugene Parker after whom the spacecraft has been named. He proposed the existence of the solar wind 60 years ago. This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft after someone still alive.

The launch was originally set for 11 August but was halted due to a technical issue with just one-minute, 55 seconds remaining, keeping the Delta IV rocket carrying the probe on the ground.

(With inputs from AP)