Solar Orbiter Unboxing

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft was removed from its shipping container inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Nov. 18, 2019. The spacecraft was flown aboard an Antonov cargo aircraft from Munich, Germany, arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 1, 2019. Solar Orbiter is a European Space Agency mission with strong NASA participation. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar winds. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Sun’s poles. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Liftoff is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.