The Solar Orbiter spacecraft after the installation of multi-layer insulation and the heat shield at the IABG facility in Ottobrunn, Germany, where the first environmental test took place.
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft after the installation of multi-layer insulation and the heat shield at the IABG facility in Ottobrunn, Germany, on Nov. 21, 2018.
The heat shield, visible as the black panel in this image, provides protection from the high levels of solar flux near perihelion.
The high-tech heat shield is made of several protective layers of titanium. The outermost of which is coated with a protective skin called “Solar Black” that was developed specifically for Solar Orbiter.
Sliding doors on the heat shield cover the feed-throughs of most of the remote-sensing instruments.
Image Credit: Airbus Defence and Space