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| | | | | | | | | Ariane 5 fairing ejection | |
Early operations
The Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP) is the period immediately after launch when critical operations are carried out by the Mission Control Team. For Herschel and Planck, this phase will start as soon as the first signal is acquired from the launcher, about 36 minutes after launch, and is expected to last for 4 to 5 days, depending on when orbit correction manoeuvres are executed.
During LEOP, the satellites will be monitored 22 hours a day using ESA’s Deep Space Stations at New Norcia, Australia (primary ground station), Cebreros, Spain, Perth, Australia and Kourou, French Guiana.
The Ariane 5 solid rocket boosters will separate from the upper stage of the launcher approximately 2.5 minutes after launch, and the fairing will come off about 4 minutes after launch.
| | | Herschel separates from upper stage |
Herschel will separate from the upper stage about 26 minutes after launch. After this, the upper stage will reorient itself away from Herschel and eject the Sylda, a protective cover under which Planck is kept during launch. The upper stage will then reorient to the right attitude and spin up, allowing Planck (which must spin at about 1 rpm to conduct its observations) to separate.
The upper stage of the Ariane 5 will directly set the spacecraft on the trajectory to enter the correct orbit around L2 after separation. The Herschel spacecraft does not have a dedicated engine for major orbital manoeuvres; it will use its thrusters for any minor corrections to the trajectory after separation.
| | Herschel’s cruise and arrival at L2 | |
The commissioning phase will begin when these critical operations are completed. This is the phase where all of the spacecraft’s subsystems (power, thermal control etc.) are turned on and verified as working normally.
Herschel is equipped with a cryostat that needs some time to cool after launch and reach its stable operational temperatures. This cooling phase will run passively in parallel with the commissioning phase.
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