08 Jan 2008 11:38

Lifting of the transport container from the transporter truck	Herschel with the top cover of the transport container removed

Yesterday, two days after its arrival on Saturday 5 January, the spacecraft was lifted out of its transport container and fastened to its Multi Purpose Trolley in the cleanroom. Preparations are underway with the electrical setup for the upcoming functional testing of the spacecraft to verify the spacecraft's condition after transport.

Lifting of Herschel from the transport container (left) onto the Multi Purpose Trolley (right) in the cleanroom at ESTEC

For the cryostat the immediate next step is the bake out during which the helium cooling system (which is not yet filled with helium) and the multi-layer insulation (MLI) is warmed to 60-70 °C with a vacuum pump attached to the cryostat. The main result of this is the removal of water from the system. The MLI is located between the cryostat's three internal thermal shields to allow them to maintain three separate temperatures during operations. Removing water molecules from the MLI improves its performance.

Later this month the telescope and the solar array will also arrive at ESTEC to be integrated with the Flight Model spacecraft.