Parker Solar Probe

Parker Solar Probe

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Ready to Launch Aboard ULA Delta IV Heavy Rocket

Linda HerridgePosted onAugust 11, 2018

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch NASA’s Parker Solar Probe on a mission to study the Sun is seen as the Mobile Service Tower gantry at Space Launch Complex 37 rolls back on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Parker Solar Probe will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket stands ready for liftoff at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Delta IV will launch NASA’s Parker Solar Probe on its journey to the Sun, venturing closer than any spacecraft before it. Launch is targeted for 3:53 a.m. EDT.

Launch countdown activities continue for this morning’s launch attempt. The weather forecast for today’s launch is now at a 90 percent chance for favorable weather at liftoff.

The launch blog originates from the NASA News Center here at Kennedy, a few miles west of the launch complex. There’s more to come, so stay with us.

Follow televised coverage of the launch countdown and launch at https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive.