Atlas V Rocket To Launch Next Generation Sun Explorer

NASA's Launch Services Program announced Tuesday that it has selected United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) Atlas V vehicle to launch its next-generation sun explorer called Solar Orbiter. This award resulted from a competitive procurement under NASA Launch Services contracts that considered multiple launch providers.

"We are honored that NASA has selected ULA to provide the launch service for this exciting science mission," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president of Atlas and Delta Programs. "ULA has enjoyed a strong partnership with NASA and our highly reliable Atlas V vehicle has successfully launched numerous missions including Pluto New Horizons, Juno, Mars Science Lab and most recently the Maven mission to Mars."

The Solar Orbiter mission is scheduled to launch in July 2017 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 411 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), which includes a 4-meter diameter payload fairing and one solid rocket motor.

Solar Orbiter is a mission dedicated to solar and heliospheric physics. It is the first medium-class mission of the European Space Agency's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. The program will seek answers to scientific questions about the development of planets and the emergence of life, how the solar system works, the origins of the universe, and the fundamental physics at work in the universe.

(Atlas V pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.ulalaunch.com