NASA prepares to launch a satellite observing the sun's surface

The US space agency (NASA) today (Vietnam time) will launch a satellite to observe the surface of the sun.

>>>NASA prepares to launch satellite observing the sun

This satellite launch is scheduled to take place at 19h27 pm on June 27 (US time, ie at 1:21 GMT on June 28). Not according to the traditional satellite launch, Iris was put into orbit by the Pegasus missile launched from an airplane. The aircraft took off from California's Vandenberg air base will launch the Pegasus missile at an altitude of nearly 12,000km, about 160km off the coast. If everything goes according to plan, Iris will get into orbit about 650km from the earth. Here it will open the solar battery and start its two-year mission to observe the sun's surface.

Experts prepare for the launch of the satellite.(Photo: AP)

The $ 182 million Iris satellite, carrying an ultraviolet telescope, can capture high-resolution images in seconds. The focus of the satellite is a much less studied area of ​​the sun between the surface and corona, to observe the sun's lower atmosphere. This is the area that produces ultraviolet rays, which affect the earth's climate and the area of ​​the sub-globe.

After entering orbit, engineers will spend a month running the test to make sure Iris is stable before starting the observing telescope.