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I'm reading up on the Engineering Design issues behind this puppy .. lots to read. It appears as though they don't transmit the science data in real time. They buffer it and send it at times when the orbit is conducive.
They have carefully selected the operating band to avoid what they call 'scintillation' effects caused by the Sun. Also the antenna design of the plasma experiments are really tricky. Apparently the antennae have to be in contact with the plasma to do the readings ... keeping the antennae away from the spacecraft & in the correct orientations reduces the current effects induced in the spacecraft, on the readings.
Fascinating stuff !
Gotta go ... Dad's day ... Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there !!
More later.
Cheers
PS: "Science data collected during the solar encounters will be stored on the redundant SSRs for subsequent downlink via the HGA once the
spacecraft is beyond 0.59 AU. No real-time science data downlink is planned inside 0.25 AU."
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