NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Survives Record Setting 1st Close Encounter with the Sun

Illustration of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Credit: ​NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM -- 9 November 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Skimming closer to the sun than any human-made object ever in human history, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record setting 1^st close encounter with the sun on Monday, Nov. 5 - less than three months after blasting off from the Florida Space Coast.

During this 1^st solar perihelion flyby by Parker, the $1.5 Billion science probe plunged to within a record breaking 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the suns blazing hot surface and intense radiation - while speeding by at a truly phenomenal and likewise record breaking velocity of 213,200 miles per hour (343,112 km/h). 

But mission scientists had to wait a few nail-biting days before receiving radio signals following the successful flyby for confirmation that the spacecraft was indeed alive and well and intact to carry out her seven-year long mission to “touch” the sun and fly through the solar corona for unprecedented science gathering operations.

“Parker Solar Probe is alive and well after skimming by the Sun at just 15 million miles from our star's surface,” NASA reported on Nov. 7.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, shown in this animation, became the closest-ever spacecraft to the Sun on Nov. 5, 2018, when it passed within 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the Sun’s surface. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL

The probe was operating autonomously and out of contact with mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab since it was so close to the sun.  

The moment of closest approach was 10:28 p.m. EST Monday Nov. 5 (0328 GMT Tuesday Nov. 6).   The encounter period began on Oct. 31.

“Mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab received the status beacon from the spacecraft at 4:46 p.m. EST (2146 GMT) on Nov. 7, 2018,” said NASA. 

“The beacon indicates status "A" — the best of all four possible status signals, meaning that Parker Solar Probe is operating well with all instruments running and collecting science data and, if there were any minor issues, they were resolved autonomously by the spacecraft.”

It currently takes about 18 minutes for a round trip signal from the spacecraft to reach Earth and return to the probe - which is approximately 1.2 AU (110 million miles, 180 million km) distant from Earth. 

Parker Solar Probe Mission Trajectory and Current Position after 1^st solar perihelion in Nov 2018.  Credit: NASA/APL/Parker Solar Probe

On Oct. 29 Parker already smashed through the existing 42 years old record set by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft back in April 1976 - and will continue setting astounding new records over the course of its seven year mission as it dives ever closer during some two dozen solar perihelion encounters.

Parker became the closest human-made object to the Sun in history when it plunged past the then current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun's surface on Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT.

“Parker Solar Probe was designed to take care of itself and its precious payload during this close approach, with no control from us on Earth — and now we know it succeeded,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency headquarters in Washington, in a statement. 

“Parker is the culmination of six decades of scientific progress. Now, we have realized humanity’s first close visit to our star, which will have implications not just here on Earth, but for a deeper understanding of our universe.”

Eventually she will swing by the sun within a final close approach of 3.83 million miles in 2024 while soaring by at a record-breaking speed of nearly 500,000 MPH.

During this 1^st solar perihelion at 15 million miles distance the Sun-facing side of Parker Solar Probe's heat shield, called the Thermal Protection System, experienced temperatures up to about 820 degrees Fahrenheit. 

This temperature will climb up to 2,500 F as the spacecraft makes closer approaches to the Sun coming within 4 million miles.

But the TPS is so effective that on the spacecraft facing side instruments and systems that are protected by the heat shield are generally kept in the mid-80s F.

The 1^st solar encounter period began on Oct. 31 and lasts through Nov. 11.

Parker is equipped with four on-board science instruments suites. Because of the probes proximity to the sun it will take several weeks before the science data begins downlinking to scientists on Earth.

The key goals are to try and answer fundamental questions about the nature of the sun and develop an understanding of how the sun works – such as why is the solar corona so hot. Its much hotter than the suns surface.

Scientists also want to know why the solar wind is accelerated to supersonic speeds. 

The mission will conduct 7 Venus flyby’s to set up 24 perihelion close encounters with the sun through 2024. The Venus flyby’s will precisely set its trajectory toward the Sun and slow the probe down instead of speeding it up. 

The $1.5 Billion mission began with a dazzling middle-of-the-night blastoff of the mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket in the wee hours of the morning, Aug. 12 – and delivered the car sized spacecraft to its intended trajectory towards Venus and the Sun.

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun and dive into the corona, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, at 3:31 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. From camera at pad. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

The 23-story tall triple barreled United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket successfully launched at 3:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 12 from the Florida Space Coast and put on a brilliant display of fire power with 2.1 million pounds of thrust spewing forth from the trio of liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen RS-68A main engines that quickly turned night into day a few hours before the natural sunrise under nearly cloud-free skies.

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com

Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.

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