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Herschel instruments are 'good to go'

14 April 2009

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Herschel alignment measurements. Engineers measured relative and absolute positions of a number of elements using reference cubes to check the mechanical stability of the satellite.

Credits: ESA/ Thales/ EADS

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Herschel’s three instruments (from top): Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI), the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE).

Credits: HIFI: SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, PACS: Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, SPIRE: SPIRE Consortium

Checks with the launcher adapter

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Engineers have carried out a fit check of the Ariane 5 launcher adapter and verified that all mechanical and electrical connections between the adapter and the satellite worked perfectly. The launcher adapter is a lightweight metal cylinder, 32 cm high and 2.624 m in diameter, which is used to fix the satellite to the launch vehicle.

Credits: ESA

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Close up of the Ariane 5 launcher adapter

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The Ariane 5 launcher adapter, a lightweight metal cylinder, 32 cm high and 2.624 m in diameter, that fixes Herschel to the launch vehicle.

Credits: ESA

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