NASA blasts off historic probe to 'touch Sun'

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Sunday blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.^{NASA handout photo via Agence France-Presse}

"Three, two, one and liftoff!" said a NASA commentator as the Parker Solar Probe soared skyward aboard a Delta IV-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 3:31 am (0731 GMT). —Agence France-Presse