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Parker Solar Probe Spacecraft Tour with Patrick Hill, Deputy Project Manager

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Patrick Hill: Hi, I'm Patrick Hill,

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Deputy Project Manager for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

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I’d like to take you on a tour of this pioneering spacecraft - designed, built,

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and soon to be operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

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In just a couple of weeks a Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle will rocket Parker Solar Probe

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out of Earth’s atmosphere and begin its long-awaited Mission to Touch the Sun.

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There are three main technologies on Parker Solar Probe that make this mission possible

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and they all play an integral part in keeping the spacecraft and scientific instruments

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safe, healthy, and operating at peak performance.

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The Thermal Protection System or TPS is an essential technology

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that enables Parker Solar Probe to get so close to the Sun.

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During closest approach the Sun-facing side of the TPS will see temperatures around 2,500 °F,

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meanwhile the spacecraft itself will be closer to the room temperature,

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around 85 °F.Everything hides behind the shadow

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or umbra of the TPS, except for a few brave instruments, the FIELDS

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electrical wave antennas and the SWEAP Solar Probe Cup,

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both of which have their own heat shields.

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Like many spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe is powered by solar arrays.

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There are two on each side of the spacecraft, currently hidden beneath their protective covers.

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What’s different about our solar arrays is they must operate within the final

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5% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. That’s too much energy

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for conventionally designed solar powered systems.

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The first thing we do is use the actuator motors to move the solar arrays

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behind the umbra of the TPS, such that only the leading edge

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are exposed to the sun. That small amount of illuminated surface produces enough

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energy to power the spacecraft and all of the instruments.

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The spacecraft uses an innovative cooling system that circulates water throughout both arrays.

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The heated water is then transported to these large radiators

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hidden behind the TPS which then radiates that heat out to deep space.

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Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to utilize an actively water-cooled solar array system.

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During solar encounters the Sun itself

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blocks Parker Solar Probe from receiving commands from Earth

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and it must rely on its own autonomous systems to keep the spacecraft and science instruments safe.

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We’ve placed Solar Limb Sensors all over the spacecraft

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to determine when it’s receiving too much sunlight,

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autonomy then determines how best to position the spacecraft by sending commands to the reaction wheels

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which adjust the probe’s position in space.

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Parker Solar Probe is one of the most autonomous spacecraft ever designed.

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Parker Solar Probe culminates of the work of tens of thousands of people at NASA, APL,

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and our partners all across the country and all over the World.

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It’s been an honor to work with such a deeply dedicated and knowledgeable team of scientists,

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engineers, and technicians. I can only wonder what we will discover

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on our Mission to Touch the Sun!