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VEGA supports launch of Herschel and Planck Space science missions

11 May 2009 – VEGA is supporting the final preparations for the launch of ESA’s Herschel and Planck missions, which are scheduled to take place on 14 May from ESA's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Space science missions, which will focus on understanding how the Universe was created, will be launched on the Ariane 5 rocket.

For the past six years, VEGA teams at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), and the European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC) have worked on different aspects of the Herschel and Planck missions. At ESTEC, VEGA scientists and software engineers have been working on the areas of instrument calibration science for both the HIFI and SPIRE instruments on Herschel and community support science for the overall mission. At ESAC, VEGA has been involved in system developments, data processing and planning tools, and at ESOC we have developed the operational simulator and played a key role in the operations preparation.

Herschel is the largest, most powerful Space telescope ever built (3.5m diameter mirror), dwarfing the Hubble Space telescope (2.4m). It is designed to study the origin and evolutions of stars and galaxies, and will help understand how the Universe came to be what it is today.

Planck is a Space observatory designed to study the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) – the residual radiation from the Big Bang – measuring CMB fluctuations with a sensitivity and frequency range never achieved before.

John Auburn, VEGA’s Aerospace Business Director, said: “Herschel and Planck are exciting Space science missions we have supported for many years. During preparations for the launch, VEGA staff based at ESOC, ESTEC and ESAC worked together providing expertise and demonstrating the breadth and depth of knowledge that ESA relies upon from VEGA, as one of Europe’s leading Space companies.

“We are always delighted to be involved in the preparation and launch of any ESA spacecraft, and wish the mission every success. We look forward to continuing our support for the mission operations and for the high quality scientific data which will be exploited by Europe’s researchers.”

Further information

For further information, please contact Karen Rogers via email on karen.rogers@vega.co.uk.