Vital stats
Planck offered vastly improved performance in measuring the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation compared to balloon-borne and ground-based experiments and exceeded the performance of any previous space-based instruments of this kind.
The spacecraft revolved about its Sun-pointing axis once per minute to stabilise its attitude. Planck used this stabilisation spin to scan the sky, observing at least 95% of it through two separate observation periods in a span of 15 months.
The Planck spacecraft | |
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Dimensions | 4.20 x 4.22 m (height x width) |
Mass | 1.95 tonnes at launch |
Spacecraft | Spin stabilised, 1 rpm |
Telescope mirror | 1.9 x 1.5 m primary reflector |
Telescope mass | 205 kg with focal plane unit |
Lifetime | A minimum of 15 months, limited by degradation of cooling system |
Operational orbit | Lissajous orbit at an average distance of 400 000 km from L2 |
Propulsion | Hydrazine, 12 thrusters x 20 N each, 4 thrusters x 1 Newton each |
Solar arrays | Flat, fixed triple-junction Gallium-Arsenide cell panels on rear of spacecraft |
Solar array area: 13m2 | |
Batteries | 39 Ah lithium ion batteries |
Communication |
3 x low gain antennae 1 x medium gain antenna |
Related links
- Planck: looking back at the dawn of time
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck - Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel/Cosmic_Microwave_Background_CMB_radiation - Travelling back in time
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck/Travelling_back_in_time - Observations: Seeing in microwave wavelengths
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck/Observations_Seeing_in_microwave_wavelengths - So, how did everything start?
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/So_how_did_everything_start - Planck in depth
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=17 - Planck spacecraft in depth
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=34729