Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 12: Sun and Heliosphere

EP 12.4: Invited Talk

Friday, March 25, 2022, 12:00–12:30, EP-H1

Solar Orbiter: two years of operations and first results — •Frederic Schuller, Alexander Warmuth, and Gottfried Mann — Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (AIP) Potsdam, Germany

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft was launched in February 2020 and will remain the most significant observatory for solar physics research in the next decade. During the cruise phase, which ended in November 2021, several crucial activities took place, starting from the commissioning of the various instruments until the testing and validation of all possible observing modes. We will provide an overview of the mission and describe the regular operations, focussing on the day-to-day work of the STIX instrument team. Then, we will highlight some technical improvements that were achieved during the early phase of the mission. Finally, we will briefly present initial scientific results obtained so far, whereas the nominal phase has only just started.