NASA launches Parker Solar Probe and the images of the lift-off are truly spectacular
See the pictures inside
NASA's Parker Solar Probe, mankind's first mission to 'touch' the Sun, has been launched today on a seven-year long journey to unlock the mysteries of our star's fiery outer atmosphere and its effects on space weather.
Liftoff took place from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US early today. The launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the spacecraft was scrubbed yesterday due to a violation of a launch limit, resulting in a hold.
The car-sized spacecraft will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere, about four million miles from its surface - and more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before, thanks to its innovative Thermal Protection System.
NASA on Saturday had postponed until tomorrow the launch of the first ever spacecraft to fly directly toward the Sun on a mission to plunge into our star's sizzling atmosphere and unlock its mysteries.
The reason for the delay was not immediately clear, but was called for after a gaseous helium alarm was sounded in the last moments before liftoff, officials said.