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| Planck mated with the Ariane 5 ECA launcher |
This is the final entry in the Planck Launch Campaign journal series, which ran from February 2009 until just before launch in May 2009. The journal covered the main activities during the period leading up to launch: from the shipment of the spacecraft to the launch site in Kourou, to the final integration of the spacecraft with the launcher. This journal series followed the Planck Test Campaign journal series, which ran from September 2005 to November 2008 (see link in right-hand menu).
The Planck spacecraft has been mated with the Ariane 5 ECA launcher on 23 April 2009. After the successful fuelling of the Planck spacecraft in the S5A building a week earlier, the spacecraft was transferred to the final assembly building (Bâtiment d'Assemblage Final, or BAF) in the evening on 22 April. There it has been integrated on top of the launcher rocket that will place both the Planck and the Herschel spacecraft in their trajectories to L2. |
| Date: 29 Apr 2009 |
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| Fuelling of the Planck spacecraft |
| Fuelling operations for the Planck spacecraft have been successfully completed last week. The filling of the propellant tanks with hydrazine liquid was performed in the S5A building at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) launch site on 15 and 16 April. |
| Date: 20 Apr 2009 |
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| Planck activities completed in S1B cleanroom - spacecraft ready to move to fuelling facility |
| The past four weeks have been dedicated to the final Planck spacecraft preparations in the S1B cleanroom. The spacecraft is now ready to move to the S5A building for fuelling. |
| Date: 14 Apr 2009 |
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| Planck spacecraft check-outs near completion |
| Recent activities around the Planck spacecraft have included the installation of multi-layer insulation on the solar array, preparations for helium filling, several sub-system functional tests and the final cleaning of the spacecraft before launch. |
| Date: 11 Mar 2009 |
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| Planck spacecraft preparation activities in Kourou |
| Preparations for the forthcoming launch of the Planck spacecraft continue at Kourou. Over the course of the past week a series of spacecraft alignment measurements, final functional tests and electrical check-outs have begun. One of the final mechanical activities has been completed - the integration of the external solar array onto the spacecraft. |
| Date: 04 Mar 2009 |
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| Planck joins Herschel at the European Spaceport in Kourou |
| The Planck spacecraft has arrived at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, and is now in the S1B clean room ready for functional tests. |
| Date: 23 Feb 2009 |
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| Launch campaign for Planck is now underway |
| Following the conclusion of the Planck spacecraft test campaign the spacecraft has now been transported to Kourou in French Guiana, where it joins the Herschel spacecraft. In the coming weeks, the two spacecraft will be prepared for a combined launch, planned for 16 April 2009. |
| Date: 20 Feb 2009 |
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| Integration of the Planck flight model solar array |
This is the final entry in the Planck Test Campaign journal series, which ran from September 2005 to November 2008. The journal covered the main activities during Planck's extensive spacecraft and instrument test campaigns. It was followed by the Planck Launch Campaign journal series, which ran from February 2009 until just before launch in May 2009 (see link in right-hand menu).
With the successful integration of the inner part of the flight model solar array to the Planck spacecraft on 25 November 2008 the project reaches another milestone. |
| Date: 26 Nov 2008 |
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| Planck Reaches 0.1 K |
| The thermal balance and thermal vacuum (TBTV) test campaign for the Planck spacecraft has been completed. During this campaign the spacecraft and payload were subjected to near-flight conditions inside a thermal vacuum chamber at the Centre Spatiale de Liège (CSL) test facilities. Over the course of about five weeks the spacecraft and payload were cooled down to operational temperatures. The extremely low operational temperature required for the HFI instrument was achieved on 22 July 2008 when the HFI bolometers reached 0.1 K (see Figure 1). |
| Date: 17 Nov 2008 |
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| Start of Planck TBTV Test Campaign |
| Last week saw the start of the thermal balance / thermal vacuum (TBTV) test campaign for the Planck spacecraft. The test campaign is performed at the Centre Spatial de Liège test facilities in Belgium. |
| Date: 26 Jun 2008 |
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| Test Chamber Fit Check for the Planck Spacecraft |
| Preparations for the upcoming thermal balance / thermal vacuum (TBTV) test of the Planck spacecraft are well under way at the test facilities of Centre Spatial de Liège. On Monday 19 May, the Planck spacecraft was placed inside the FOCAL-5 test chamber for a fit check. |
| Date: 30 May 2008 |
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| Planck Activities at CSL |
| Wednesday, 23 April 2008, the Planck spacecraft arrived at Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL) in Belgium. After unloading and opening of the transport and storage container, the flight model spacecraft was carefully rolled out on the container trolley. At the CSL facilities, Planck will go through its final thermal and cryogenic spacecraft system test campaign over the course of several weeks. |
| Date: 14 May 2008 |
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| Planck Leaves ESTEC |
| Having completed the fine balancing tests inside the Large Space Simulator, the Planck spacecraft has left the ESTEC test facilities on a transport truck to Centre Spatial Liège (CSL). |
| Date: 25 Apr 2008 |
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| Planck Spacecraft Fine Balancing in LSS |
| Wednesday 2 April the Planck flight model spacecraft was placed inside the Large Space Simulator (LSS) at the ESTEC test facilities for fine balancing. After the arrival on 28 March at ESTEC, unpacking, and several spacecraft preparations in the cleanroom, the Planck spacecraft was hoisted up from its ground support equipment (GSE) and transferred to the LSS by means of the overhead crane. |
| Date: 11 Apr 2008 |
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| Planck Arrives at ESTEC |
| After a flight from Nice to Amsterdam in the night of Thursday 27 March 2008, the Planck spacecraft arrived by transporter truck at ESTEC early on Friday. Over the weekend the spacecraft was unpacked from its transport container, together with the mechanical ground support equipment (MGSE). |
| Date: 01 Apr 2008 |
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| Successful Planck RF Telescope Test at 320 GHz |
| This article reports on the recently concluded Planck Radio Frequency Qualification Model (RFQM) test campaign in the Thales Alenia Space Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) facility, Cannes, France. The campaign gave to engineers and scientists confirmation that the planned RF verification method of the alignment of the Flight Model (FM) telescope is completely operational and can be performed with confidence on the FM spacecraft early next year. |
| Date: 24 Oct 2007 |
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| The Planck RFQM Telescope at Thales |
| The Radio Frequency Qualification Model (RFQM) of the Planck telescope is currently at Thales in Cannes. This morning, the first change of the shim behind the RF test horn was performed. |
| Date: 07 Sep 2007 |
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| Planck Leaves ESTEC for Alcatel Alenia Space |
| On 12 September 2006, the Planck FM telescope, housed in the Planck Spacecraft Container, was loaded onto a truck and left ESTEC to be transported to the premises of Planck prime contractor Alcatel Alenia Space France in Cannes, France. |
| Date: 20 Sep 2006 |
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| Herschel and Planck Meet for the First Time |
| The primary reflector for the Planck spacecraft flight model (FM), on its way back to Cannes after a test campaign in the ESTEC LSS test facility, meets for the first time the cryostat belonging to the Herschel spacecraft. The Herschel cryostat has just arrived at ESTEC for a test campaign that will also be performed in the LSS and will run over the next months. |
| Date: 01 Sep 2006 |
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| Videogrammetry Measurements Successfully Completed |
| The Planck space telescope was removed last week from the Large Space Simulator (LSS) at ESTEC, ESA's research and technology centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, after a thorough two-week test down to -178 °C. The telescope has performed well under the cold-vacuum conditions. The test is an important milestone in the build-up to launch in 2008. |
| Date: 15 Aug 2006 |
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