Strong Irish links to upcoming Solar Orbiter launch at Cape Canaveral

A team of scientists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) will attend the launch of the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Monday, 10th February.

The Solar Orbiter mission will address big questions in solar system science to help us understand how the sun creates and controls the heliosphere. It will be launched from Cape Canaveral at 4.03 am Irish time on Monday 10th February and will spend 7 years on its mission, sending images back to the Earth.

There are strong Irish connections to the Solar Orbiter: researchers from DIAS were involved in the development of equipment for the satellite, while an Irish company – ENBIO – developed the protective heat-resistant layer that will enable the Orbiter to study the sun at an unprecedented level of proximity.

Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics at DIAS, is a Co-Investigator for the Solar Telescope Imaging X-rays (STIX) instrument on the Solar Orbiter and will attend the launch in Florida, along with DIAS researcher Dr Shane Maloney, who worked on software used for the spacecraft.

Speaking in advance of the launch, Professor Gallagher said: “Irish research and innovation have played a vital role in the development of the Solar Orbiter. The observations the Orbiter will collect will help scientists better understand what drives the sun’s activity. It is a testament to the calibre of researchers working in Ireland that we have such strong Irish involvement in this project.”