14 DAY TRIAL // Ten years in the making, the Herschel/Planck mission has just been officially deemed a resounding success. Arianespace's live webcast of the lift-off procedure showed a picture-perfect launch, with the Ariane 5 delivery system thundering away from the Guiana Space Center, in French Guyana, South America. Under a clear blue sky, mission controllers and the press watched how the two observatories Herschel and Planck blasted off to their destination, some 1.5 million kilometers away. It will take up to three months for the telescopes to get to their locations, but, as far as the launch goes, everything worked out according to plan.
About two minutes into the flight, the first stage finished burning, and the two boosters that were attached to the craft were successfully jettisoned. About ten minutes later, the fairing cover was also separated from the Ariane 5 delivery system, exposing the head of the Herschel space telescope, which was the first to deploy as well, about 22 minutes after lift-off. Just four minutes later, Planck's cover was also separated, via pyrotechnics and release springs, and the second telescope successfully exited its carrier vehicle as well.
For Planck's separation, Ariane had to start spinning relatively quick, so as to imbue the satellite with the necessary motion for the orbit it needed to reach. Over the next few days, the control of the spacecraft will be turned over to mission controllers in South Africa, who will guide and interpret the readings sent back by the observatories, before they leave Earth's orbit and move to the L2 Lagrangian point, some 1.5 million kilometers away. Once there, they will be able to observe their mission objectives without the influence of light radiating from the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.
The event marks the 30th successful Ariane 5 launch and, again, consolidates the position that the European Space Agency and the Arianespace aeronautics company have, as the global leaders in the commercial, military and scientific satellite-deployment business. This year alone, the space center in the French Guyana will host at least five other launches, while ESA has at least seven launch contracts signed with various companies in the world, spanning from 2009 through 2011.