The spacecraft that will 'touch the sun': NASA puts finishing touches to 430,000 mph Parker Solar Probe that will launch next month to help predict devastating solar storms

• Parker Solar Probe spacecraft will be sent within four million miles of the sun 
• It will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on August 4
• The probe will collect information on the life of stars and dangerous solar flares
• Nasa is including a memory card on board loaded with people's names 

NASA will launch its long-anticipated space probe that hopes to 'touch the sun' from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next month, the space agency has revealed.

The Parker Solar Probe will fly at speeds of up to 430,000mph (700,000kph) in an attempt to get closer to the surface of the star than any other mission before it.

Today NASA revealed the launch date for the groundbreaking mission, and reveals new pictures of the revolutionary eight-foot-diameter heat shield that will safeguard the probe.

NASA engineers attach the heatshield: The Thermal Protection System connects to the 

custom-welded truss on the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft at six points to minimize heat conduction. The spacecraft will fly directly into the sun's atmosphere and make its 

observations from a safe distance of approximately four million miles (6.5 million km)

 from the surface.

Experts hope its proximity to the sun will provide vital information on the life of stars and devastating solar flares which can buffet Earth.

At their worst, the solar storms they create can create havoc with power networks and disrupt the operations of satellites.

 The Parker Solar Probe (PSP), which is roughly the size of a car, will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on August 4.

It will provide unprecedented information about our Sun, where changing conditions can spread out into the solar system to affect Earth and other worlds.