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Herschel reflection in Planck mirror
Herschel reflected in Planck mirror
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Planck will offer vastly improved performance in measuring the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation compared to balloon-borne and ground-based experiments and will exceed the performance of any previous space-based instruments of this kind.




The spacecraft revolves about its Sun-pointing axis once per minute to stabilise its attitude. Planck will use 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
Dimensions4.20 x 4.22 m (height x width)
Mass1.95 tonnes at launch
SpacecraftSpin stabilised, 1 rpm
Telescope mirror1.9 x 1.5 m primary reflector
Telescope mass205 kg with focal plane unit
LifetimeA minimum of 15 months, limited by degradation of cooling system
Operational orbitLissajous orbit at an average distance of 400 000 km from L2
PropulsionHydrazine, 12 thrusters x 20 N each, 4 thrusters x 1 Newton each
Solar arraysFlat, fixed triple-junction Gallium-Arsenide cell panels on rear of spacecraft
 Solar array area: 13m2
Batteries39 Ah lithium ion batteries
Communication3 x low gain antennae
1 x medium gain antenna
 
 
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 Planck: looking back at the dawn of timePlanck cruises to L2
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Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiationTravelling back in timeObservations: Seeing in microwave wavelengthsSo, how did everything start?
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