CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A red-hot voyage to the sun is going to bring us closer to our star than ever before.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe will be the first spacecraft to "touch" the sun, hurtling through the sizzling solar atmosphere and coming within just 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the surface.

It's designed to take solar punishment like never before, thanks to its revolutionary heat shield that's capable of withstanding 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius).

Liftoff is set for the pre-dawn hours of Saturday for this first-of-its-kind mission to a star.

"The cool...