Parker begins first perihelion fly-by of Sun
It’s getting hot in here: The Parker Solar Probe has begun its first close orbital fly-by of the Sun, set to last from now until November 11.
This solar encounter encompasses the first perihelion of the mission, the point at which Parker Solar Probe is closest to the Sun. Perihelion is expected at about 10:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 5. The spacecraft will come within 15 million miles of the Sun’s surface and clock in at a top speed of 213,200 miles per hour relative to the Sun — setting new records for both closest solar approach and top heliocentric speed by a spacecraft. At perihelion, Parker Solar Probe will fly through material at about 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit — but because material in this region is so tenuous, it doesn’t influence the temperature of the spacecraft. However, the Sun’s intense radiation heats the Sun-facing side of the spacecraft’s heat shield, called the Thermal Protection System, to about 820 F.
For several days around the Nov. 5 perihelion, Parker Solar Probe will be completely out of contact with Earth because of interference from the Sun’s overwhelming radio emissions.
The article provides some nice details about the spacecraft’s design.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
It’s getting hot in here: The Parker Solar Probe has begun its first close orbital fly-by of the Sun, set to last from now until November 11.
This solar encounter encompasses the first perihelion of the mission, the point at which Parker Solar Probe is closest to the Sun. Perihelion is expected at about 10:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 5. The spacecraft will come within 15 million miles of the Sun’s surface and clock in at a top speed of 213,200 miles per hour relative to the Sun — setting new records for both closest solar approach and top heliocentric speed by a spacecraft. At perihelion, Parker Solar Probe will fly through material at about 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit — but because material in this region is so tenuous, it doesn’t influence the temperature of the spacecraft. However, the Sun’s intense radiation heats the Sun-facing side of the spacecraft’s heat shield, called the Thermal Protection System, to about 820 F.
For several days around the Nov. 5 perihelion, Parker Solar Probe will be completely out of contact with Earth because of interference from the Sun’s overwhelming radio emissions.
The article provides some nice details about the spacecraft’s design.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Yes, NASA has accounts about how their plastic models work in their movies just like Star Trek and Star Wars. At least the other two franchises produce movies with coherent plots.
Jim Roberts-
Can you expand on that a little bit? (thanks)
I think Jim adheres to the belief that we didn’t land any people on the Moon.
Yes,
Unfortunately, NASA bans all truth tellers from commenting at their site.
Calvin–
I wanted to hear more about the dome!
>Good stuff on the radiation-hardened electronics on board the Probe. Made by Cobham Plc, in the UK.
“Cobham solutions featured on the Parker Solar Probe include: RadHard Databus Terminals, Low Voltage Digital Signaling (LVDS) circuits, Logic devices, eight varieties of Memory, Multiplexers, Pulse Width Modulators, Spacewire Transceivers and Voltage Regulators. These devices allow the spacecraft to withstand the extreme temperatures and radiation as it travels towards the Sun.”
https://www.cobham.com/advanced-electronic-solutions/semiconductor-solutions/news/cobham-s-radiation-hardened-and-high-reliability-microelectronics-technology-enables-nasa-s-parker-solar-probe/
Why Won’t it Melt?
How NASA’s Solar Probe will Survive the Sun
NASA/Goddard July 2018
https://youtu.be/TN6rZF5dSRg
2:54
(I learn something new every day— they are using water to regulate the solar-panel temperatures!)
to summarize…
-heat shield
-autonomous software continually sensing instrument function and orienting the craft
-cooling system
– “heat is not temperature” (a very interesting Factoid about energy transfer in space)