Solar Cruiser
Mission typeTechnology, Heliophysics
OperatorNASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSolar sail
DimensionsSail: 1,672 m2 (18,000 sq ft)
Start of mission
Launch dateFebruary 2025 (proposed)[1]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC-40
ContractorSpaceX
Sun orbiter
Orbital parameters
InclinationPolar
Instruments
Coronagraph
 

Solar Cruiser was a planned NASA spacecraft that would have studied the Sun while propelled by a solar sail.[2][3] The mission would have supported NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program by studying how interplanetary space changes in response to the constant outpouring of energy and particles from the Sun and how it interacts with planetary atmospheres.[3] It was expected to launch as a rideshare payload alongside IMAP in February 2025.[1] However, the spacecraft was not selected for further development and project closeout efforts concluded in 2023.[4]

The principal investigator was Les Johnson at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.[3]

Overview

The mission had been selected to launch along with NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and Global Lyman-alpha Imagers of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE).[2] The Solar Cruiser spacecraft would have demonstrated solar sailing around the Sun at an unusual polar orbit, while its coronagraph instrument would enable simultaneous measurements of the Sun's magnetic field structure and velocity of coronal mass ejections.[3] The craft's nearly 1,672 m2 (18,000 sq ft) solar sail was expected to demonstrate the ability to use solar radiation as propulsion and facilitate views of the Sun not easily accessible with current technology, such as a close-up view of its poles.[3][5]

Solar Cruiser was awarded US$65 million for mission execution. Previously, US$400,000 for nine-month mission concept studies was presented to the Heliophysics Solar Terrestrial Probes program, which is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.[2][3] However, Solar Cruiser was not approved for advancement to phase C of its development cycle.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Fox, Karen (11 December 2020). "NASA Adjusts IMAP Schedule to Accommodate COVID-19 Precautions". NASA. Retrieved 14 December 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 "NASA Selects Heliophysics Missions of Opportunity for Space Science Research and Technology Demonstration" (Press release). NASA. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NASA Selects Proposals to Demonstrate SmallSat Technologies to Study Interplanetary Space" (Press release). NASA. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. 1 2 Christe, Steve (2 August 2023). "Solar Cruiser: Enabling new vistas for Heliophysics Science". Heliophysics Strategic Technology Office. NASA. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "In 2024, our Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe will launch with two other science missions and a technology demonstration..." NASA. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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