* Astronomy

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RE: Planck satellite

Blobrana · L

ESA's cosmic explorers in flight: stunning images from ground and space

The Planck-Sylda composite seen from Herschel after separation

The Planck-Sylda composite seen receding from Herschel after separation

Stunning images taken from Earth and space show Herschel and Planck in flight on 14 May 2009. The first, taken from Herschel, show the Planck-Sylda composite just after Herschel's separation, about 1150 km above Africa. A second set taken from ESA's Optical Ground Station, shows Herschel, Planck, Sylda and the launcher's upper stage long after separation, travelling together at an altitude of about 100 000 km.

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Arianespace launches two spacecraft on missions to explore the universe
Ariane 5 provided another demonstration of its operational flexibility in Arianespace service today by placing two payloads on their way to deep space missions that will provide new insights into the origins and future of our universe.
Departing the Spaceport in a rare morning liftoff, the heavy-lift Ariane 5 carried its Herschel and Planck passengers into a very elliptical orbit with a perigee of 270 km. and an apogee of nearly 1.2 million km. This will allow the two European Space Agency scientific spacecraft to subsequently perform the manoeuvres enabling them to reach the Sun-Earth system's second Lagrange point (L2), which is 1.5 million km. from Earth.
Ariane 5 lifted off on time from French Guiana at 10:12 a.m., and climbed out under a bright sun that penetrated the scattered clouds. The weather was "green" for the final countdown phase, and heavy rains of earlier in the morning had moved clear of the Spaceport for the liftoff. Tracking cameras followed the Ariane 5 downrange, including the separation of its two solid boosters - which occurred 2 min. 18 sec. into the mission at an altitude of 67 kilometres.
The flight was Arianespace's first with payloads destined for L2, and it follows other missions performed by the company with spacecraft designed to explore the Moon, planets and comets - as well as support human space exploration with the International Space Station.
In post-launch comments from the Spaceport's mission control centre, Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said today's mission also marked a notable 30th straight success for Ariane 5.

Source Arianespace

Blobrana · L

For its second launch of the year, Arianespace will orbit two scientific satellites for the European Space Agency: the Herschel space telescope and the Planck scientific observatory.
The two satellites are being launched towards the Lagrange Point (L2), once again demonstrating the operational capabilities of Ariane 5. This is the only launch vehicle on the commercial market today capable of launching two payloads simultaneously, and handling a complete array of missions, from commercial launches into geostationary orbit, to scientific missions into special orbits.
It will be launched from the Ariane launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Ariane 5 ECA launcher lift-off for this flight is scheduled during the day of May 14, 2009 as soon as possible within the following launch window:

UTC	Paris, France	Kourou	Washington, D.C., USA	Moscow, Russia
Between 1:12 p.m. and 2:07 p.m. on May 14, 2009	Between 3:12 p.m. and 4:07 p.m. on May 14, 2009	Between 10:12 a.m. and 11:07 a.m. on May 14, 2009	Between 9:12 a.m. and 10:07 a.m. on May 14, 2009	Between 5:12 p.m. and 6:07 p.m. on May 14, 2009

Blobrana · L

Two spacecraft are due to launch this week, both named after influential German-born scientists: Max Planck, the father of quantum theory, and William Herschel, a British astronomer who discovered infrared radiation.
The Planck and Herschel missions, both led by the European Space Agency (ESA), will share an Ariane 5 rocket as they lift off from Kourou, French Guiana, on 14 May.

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The launch date for two key space astronomy satellites developed by Cardiff University experts has been confirmed.
On May 14th 2009 the European Space Agencys Herschel Space Observatory and Planck Surveyor satellites will be launched into space on the same Ariane 5 rocket.
On board Herschel will be the SPIRE instrument developed by a team led by Professor Matt Griffin, School of Physics and Astronomy. The Planck satellite will contain the key instruments for which a Cardiff team, led by Professor Peter Ade, provided key hardware.

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The payload "stack" build-up for Ariane 5's second mission of 2009 marked another milestone with the encapsulation of its lower passenger - the Planck space observatory - in the SYLDA dispenser system.
SYLDA is a canister-shaped device that enables Ariane 5 to carry its trademark dual satellite payloads, and the dispenser has been positioned over Planck - which was installed atop the Ariane 5's core stage last week.
The encapsulation took place inside Ariane 5's Final Assembly Building at the Spaceport in French Guiana, where the heavy-lift launcher is scheduled for a May 14 liftoff.

Source

Blobrana · L

Europe's Herschel and Planck telescopes will be launched on Thursday, 14 May.
Officials at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana have declared the observatories' rocket fit to fly after some earlier technical concerns.
The Ariane 5 launcher will send the telescopes out to a position some 1.5 million km from Earth on the opposite side to the Sun.

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Blobrana · L

European satellite launcher Arianespace SA on Monday announced a new delay in the launch of a space telescope and a spacecraft meant to gather information about the Big Bang cosmic explosion.
The planned May 6 launch has been delayed because of "an anomaly" discovered in the Ariane-5 rocket used to carry the payload into space, Arianespace spokesman Mario de Lepine said. He declined to provide details about the anomaly.

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ESAs Herschel and Planck missions that will study the formation of stars and galaxies and the relic radiation from the Big Bang, respectively, have successfully completed their test campaigns in Europe. The two spacecraft will soon be shipped to Europes spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
On 6 February, ESA reviewed the status of the spacecraft and the results of the test campaigns that were carried out over the past year. Following the review, the spacecraft teams were given the green light to start the launch campaign, the final phase of spacecraft activities on Earth.

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