Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Mission · Sun

Solar Orbiter

Solar probe

Status
At target
Launched
10 Feb 2020
Target
The Sun (polar regions)
Agencies
ESA, NASA
Next
24 Dec 2026 Venus flyby raises the orbit's tilt to 24°

Summary

A European probe that uses Venus flybys to tilt its orbit gradually out of the ecliptic plane, so that it can see the Sun's poles for the first time.

Now as of 3 Nov 2026

A Venus flyby in February 2025 raised the orbit's inclination to 17°, and the first-ever images of a solar pole followed. The next Venus flyby, on 24 December 2026, raises the inclination to 24° and starts the high-latitude phase; later flybys take it to 33° (ESA, perihelia and flybys; ESA notes that the dates may shift).

Key dates

  1. 10 Feb 2020Launch (Atlas V)done
  2. 18 Feb 2025Venus flyby: inclination 17°done
  3. 24 Dec 2026Venus flyby: inclination 24°planned
  4. 2029Venus flyby: inclination 33°planned

Timeline

  1. Feb 2025Inclination 17°, first images of a solar pole — ESA