Sunrise Quick Facts

Oct 23, 2007 - by Staff

Fact Sheet

Background on the Sunrise balloon-borne solar telescope project

Mission

To study the structure and dynamics of the solar magnetic field by capturing high-resolution images of the Sun’s outer surface.

Where and when

Test mission completed: Launched October 3, 2007 near Fort Sumner, New Mexico

Research mission completed: Arctic flight, Launched June 8, 2009, from Kiruna, Sweden

Research mission planned: Possible Antarctic flight in 2010 or 2011

What’s unique

Sunrise is gathering the highest-resolution imagery ever obtained on solar magnetic fields, detecting features on the Sun’s surface that are as small as 19 miles (30 kilometers) in diameter.

The test flight

Lasted about nine hours from launch at Fort Sumner, NM, at around 9:00 a.m. MDT on October 3 to landing near Dalhart, TX, just after 7:00 p.m. CDT (6:00 p.m. MDT).
Balloon and gondola descended via parachute at about 12 mph

The balloon

Rises to just over 120,000 feet, reaching the middle stratosphere
Spans a sphere about 360 feet in diameter when fully inflated, with a volume of 29 million cubic feet—larger than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
Weighs about 12,000 pounds, including a payload of 4,700 pounds
Made of thin polyethylene, the same material as in dry-cleaning bags, but only 0.0008 inches thick

The gondola