Solar Orbiter

Solar Orbiter
	Artist's impression of the Solar Orbiter orbiting the Sun
Mission type	Heliophysics
Operator	ESA / NASA
COSPAR ID	2020-010A
SATCAT no.	45167
Website	Official website
Mission duration	7 years (nominal); + 3 years (extended); Elapsed: 5 years, 4 months and 7 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Airbus Defence and Space
Launch mass	1,800 kg (4,000 lb)
Payload mass	209 kg (461 lb)
Dimensions	2.5 × 3.1 × 2.7 m (8 × 10 × 9 ft)
Power	180 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	10 February 2020, 04:03 UTC
Rocket	Atlas V 411 (AV-087)
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC‑41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Entered service	November 2021; (start of main mission)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Heliocentric
Regime	Elliptic orbit
Perihelion altitude	0.28 AU (42 million km; 26 million mi)
Aphelion altitude	0.91 AU (136 million km; 85 million mi)
Inclination	24° (nominal mission); 33° (extended mission)
Period	168 days
Main
Type	Ritchey–Chrétien reflector
Diameter	160 mm
Focal length	2.5 m
Wavelengths	Visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays
EPD
Instruments
EPD	Energetic Particle Detector
EUI	Extreme Ultraviolet Imager
MAG	Magnetometer
METIS	Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy Coronagraph
PHI	Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager
RPW	Radio and Plasma Waves
SolOHI	Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager
SPICE	Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment
STIX	X-ray Spectrometer/Telescope
SWPA	Solar Wind Plasma Analyser
	; Insignia for the Solar Orbiter mission. Cosmic Vision Living With a Star program

The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun which is difficult to do from Earth. These observations are important in investigating how the Sun creates and controls its heliosphere.

SolO makes observations of the Sun from an eccentric orbit moving as close as ≈60 solar radii (R_S), or 0.284 astronomical units (au), placing it inside Mercury's perihelion of 0.3075 au. During the mission the orbital inclination will be raised to about 24°. The total mission cost is US$1.5 billion, counting both ESA and NASA contributions.

SolO was launched on 10 February 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA). The nominal mission is planned until the end of 2026, with a potential extension until 2030.