BackForward Satellite Programme: Solar Orbiter 

Programme details
Programme description
  • Single-satellite programme, for solar processes observation.
  • ESA programme with NASA contribution: ESA responsible of development and operations, and provision of one instrument, NASA of one instrument and the launch service; all other instruments provided by ESA member countries.
  • The platform is actively stabilised over 3 axes.
  • The design life time is 7 years.  An extension to 10 years is envisaged.
  • The satellite exploits an elliptical orbit around the Sun with increasing inclination up to more than 25° with respect to the solar equator. 
  • See detailed descriptions at http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=45
Data circulation
  • The data are downlinked to the station in Malargüe (Argentina), moved to the ESA European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt and then transferred to the Science Operations Center (SOC) at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Villafranca, for distribution to the individual instrument teams for calibration and verification.
  • The calibrated data products return to the SOC for inclusion in the ESAC science archive, which is openly accessible by the international community.
Agencies ESA , NASA
Programme lifetime 2020 - 2030
Associated satellites and instruments

Note: red tag => no longer operational , green tag => operational , blue tag => planned