Parker Solar Probe
Liftoff
Published Aug 15, 2018Just two and a half minutes after launching, the rocket carrying the Parker Solar Probe was burning propellant at a rate of about 5,000 pounds per second. After three minutes, the vehicle was traveling at 4,500 miles per hour. After just six and a half minutes, the external fairing protecting the solar probe detached, completing the boost phase. Now, the Parker Solar Probe, designed and built at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, cruises toward the sun, where it will help us solve some of the biggest mysteries of our closest star.
