The Revolution Blog

Holy hubris! We’re helping NASA fly closer to the sun

Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018

The folks at NASA are on it with their Parker Solar Probe, the first-ever mission to explore the Sun’s outer atmosphere and make critical observations about the physics of stars.

Before the Probe blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in August, it had to undergo rigorous acoustic testing to make sure it could withstand the extreme noise levels of a rocket launch. And guess who was there to support it right? Hamilton. In this photo, the Probe is being readied to enter a 42-foot-tall test chamber at Goddard Space Center on a trailer equipped with none other than Hamilton Extra Heavy Duty Swivel Casters featuring our Rap-A-Round foot brake. Hear it? That’s the sound of pure rolling power.


Over the next seven years, the Probe will orbit the sun 24 times, perform seven Venus gravity assist flybys and come within 4 million miles of the sun on its closest orbit. Researchers will use the data it collects to help improve how we forecast major space-weather events that impact life on Earth, as well as answer many questions about solar physics that have dogged scientists for decades.

Now that’s a vacation.

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