2005•Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIERequires access
Solar Orbiter assessment study and model payload
N. Rando, Lothar Gerlach, Guy Janin, B. Johlander, A. Jeanes, Aleksander Lyngvi, R. G. Marsden, Alan Owens, Udo Telljohann, D. Lumb, Tone Peacock
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Abstract
The Solar Orbiter mission is presently in assessment phase by the Science Payload and Advanced Concepts Office of the European Space Agency. The mission is confirmed in the Cosmic Vision programme, with the objective of a launch in October 2013 and no later than May 2015. The Solar Orbiter mission incorporates both a near-Sun (~0.22 AU) and a high-latitude (~ 35 deg) phase, posing new challenges in terms of protection from the intense solar radiation and related spacecraft thermal control, to remain compatible with the programmatic constraints of a medium class mission. This paper provides an overview of the assessment study activities, with specific emphasis on the definition of the model payload and its accommodation in the spacecraft. The main results of the industrial activities conducted with Alcatel Space and EADS-Astrium are summarized.