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SOLAR (ISS)

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SOLAR
SOLAR heads into orbit on STS-122
The STS-122 crew included two ESA astronauts, Léopold Eyharts (fr) and Hans Schlegel (de)

SOLAR[1] (Solar Monitoring Observatory[2]) was an ESA science observatory on the Columbus Laboratory, which is part of the International Space Station. SOLAR was launched with Columbus in February 2008 aboard STS-122. It was externally mounted to Columbus with the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). SOLAR has three main space science instruments: SOVIM, SOLSPEC and SOL-ACES.[3] Together they provide detailed measurements of the Sun's spectral irradiance.[4] The SOLAR platform and its instruments are controlled from the Belgian User Support and Operations Centre (B.USOC), located at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BISA) in Uccle, Belgium.

Instruments

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  • SOVIM (Solar Variability and Irradiance Monitor) instrument is based on an earlier instrument (SOVA) which flew aboard the European Retrievable Carrier, launched on STS-46 in 1992.[5] It is designed to measure solar radiation with wavelengths from 200 nanometers - 100 micrometers. This covers near-ultraviolet, visible and infrared areas of the spectrum.
  • SOLSPEC (Solar Spectral irradiance measurements) is designed to measure the solar spectral irradiance in the 165- to 3000-nanometer range with high spectral resolution.
  • SOL-ACES (Auto-calibrating Extreme Ultraviolet and Ultraviolet spectrometers) consists of four grazing incidence grating spectrometers. They are designed to measure the EUV/UV spectral regime (17 nanometers - 220 nanometers) with moderate spectral resolution.[6]

Mission

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The mission was originally planned for a 2003 launch, but was delayed following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[7]

In 2012, the entire 450-tonne station was rotated so SOLAR could observe a full rotation of the Sun continuously.[2] A Solar rotation takes about 24–28 days depending on the latitude.[8]

SOLAR's mission ended in 2017 with the failure of all but one of its instruments. On the morning of 28 January 2020 SOLAR was removed from FRAM 1 where it rested since it was delivered on STS 122 and strapped to the side of Cygnus NG-12 with the SDS placed on the other side. SOLAR was released from the station on 3 February 2020 and burnt up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on 13 March 2020 ending the mission which spent a decade photographing the sun.[9]

Visuals

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The Solar Monitoring Observatory is externally mounted on the Columbus Laboratory
SOLAR

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SOLAR: three years observing and ready for solar maximum". European Space Agency. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 2025-07-20.
  2. ^ a b Jacobs, Carla; et al. (5–9 May 2014). The ISS “SOLAR” attitude, from a 1-time experimental attitude change request to a standard ISS attitude to advance SOLAR science. SpaceOps 2014 Conference. Pasadena, California. doi:10.2514/6.2014-1666.
  3. ^ "Sun Monitoring on the External Payload Facility of Columbus (Solar)". NASA. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  4. ^ "Solar Package on ISS". Belgian User Support and Operation Centre. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  5. ^ Manise, Nicolas (22 August 2000). "SOVIM (Solar Variability and Irradiance Monitor)". Belgian International Space Station User Support Center. Retrieved 2007-09-21.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Wienhold, F.G.; et al. (2000). "The solar package on ISS: SOL-ACES". Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part C: Solar, Terrestrial & Planetary Science. 25 (5–6): 473–476. Bibcode:2000PCEC...25..473W. doi:10.1016/S1464-1917(00)00060-X.
  7. ^ "ISS: Columbus Module". www.eoportal.org. European Space Agency. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  8. ^ Solar rotation
  9. ^ Clark, Stephen (3 February 2020). "Cygnus departs space station, deploys CubeSats". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
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