(Images: Artist's impression of Herschel space telescope (above, left) and Planck satellite (above, right) c
Satnews Daily
January 29th, 2009
Herschel + Planck Pair Up For Arianespace Sequel
Launch vehicle components for Arianespace's second Ariane 5 flight of 2009 have arrived in French Guiana, allowing preparations to begin for an April mission that will carry two key European space science payloads.
These Ariane 5 elements were delivered yesterday by the MN Toucan - one of two sea-going ships that carries launchers from Europe to South America, and were transported on January 29 by road to the Spaceport. This upcoming mission will loft a heavyweight payload for the European Space Agency, consisting of the Herschel space telescope and the Planck spacecraft for cosmic microwave background measurements. With a liftoff mass of 3,300 kg., Herschel will be the largest space telescope of its kind ever launched. Its ability to detect space radiation at far infrared and sub-millimeter wavelengths will help scientists to determine how the first galaxies were created, and how they evolved into their present-day form. The 1,800-kg. Planck spacecraft will analyze radiation remnants that filled the universe immediately after the Big Bang, which are observed today as the Cosmic Microwave Background. Data from Planck will provide answers on the universe's creation and how it is expected to develop in the future.
Both payloads will be sent to the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system after their launch by Ariane 5, and ultimately will be placed in a Lissajous orbit around the L2 point at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Arianespace plans a total of six to eight Ariane 5 launches this year as it maintains this heavy-lift vehicle's flight pace. The first liftoff of 2009 is set for February 12, with the launch vehicle now ready for Arianespace's
integration of the HOT BIRD-10 and NSS-9 primary payloads, along with a pair of Spirale auxiliary satellite passengers.
(Images: Artist's impression of Herschel space telescope (above, left) and Planck satellite (above, right) c
(Images: Artist's impression of Herschel space telescope (above, left) and Planck satellite (above, right) c