The knowledge of the solar active phenomena requires their observation from the space to cover the ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum unreachable from the ground. Presently, two missions devoted to the study of the Sun are in operation: the satellites Yohkoh and Ulysses. Their recent results are briefly analyzed and compared with discoveries of the solar dedicated satellites that were active in the 70's and 80's: the space station Skylab, the SMM and the Hinotori. The objectives and integration of the incoming SOHO satellite that will be launched in 1995, to observe continuously the Sun from the Lagrange LI point, are also described.