14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at NASA announce that the American space agency has just selected Centennial, Colorado-based United Launch Services LLC (ULS) to provide the launch vehicle for the upcoming Solar Orbiter mission. The spacecraft is tentatively scheduled for launch in July 2017 and will fly into space aboard an Atlas V heavy-lift delivery system, flying in its popular 411 configuration.
The Atlas V 411 features a single Common Core Booster (CCB), a single Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), and a single-engine Centaur (SEC) upper stage sporting a 4-meter (13-foot) payload fairing. The rocket is able to deliver up to 12,150 kilograms (26,455 lbs) of cargo to low-Earth orbit and 5,950 kilograms (13,120 lbs) to geostationary transfer orbits.
The rocket will most likely take off from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. The Solar Orbiter it will carry is the product of a collaborative effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Experts estimate that the entire project can be completed for just $172.7 million (€124 million).
This amount includes everything from spacecraft processing, payload integration, and launch services to tracking, relaying data and telemetry back to Earth, and additional support services. The primary goal of the mission will be to study the outer atmosphere of the Sun, as well as gather more data on its polar regions. The mission is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.