Parker Solar Probe — launch
Date in UTC
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP; previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus or Solar Probe+) is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 to make observations of the Sun's outer corona. It used repeated gravity assists from Venus to develop an eccentric orbit, approaching within 9.86 solar radii (6.9 million km or 4.3 million miles) from the center of the Sun. At its closest approach in 2024, its speed relative to the Sun was 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph) or 191 km/s (118.7 mi/s), which is 0.064% the speed of light. It is the fastest object ever built on Earth. The project was announced in the 2009 budget year.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe. Related NASA reference: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe/. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
- Category
- Launches and Flight Tests
- Type
- Orbital launch
- Subjects
- Space transportation
- Mission
- Parker Solar Probe
- Organization
- United Launch Alliance/Boeing
- Vehicle
- Delta 4H/Star 48BV
- Location
- Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida
- Country
- US
- Outcome
- Successful
Sources and attribution
- Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia — Parker Solar Probe (opens in a new tab) — Adapted from Wikipedia contributors; selected sentences retained and edited for length, reference markers and pronunciation glosses. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Article and edit history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA — Parker Solar Probe (opens in a new tab)
- NASA NSSDCA — Parker Solar Probe (opens in a new tab)