Date: 23 Apr 2009
Satellite: Planck
Depicts: Mating of spacecraft with launcher
Location: Final assembly building (BAF), CSG, Kourou, French Guiana
Copyright: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - P. Baudon

With the launcher adapter ring (Adaptateur Charge Utile, or ACU) integrated at the base of Planck's service module the Planck spacecraft is lowered into place on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher inside the final assembly building (Bâtiment d'Assemblage Final, or BAF).

Only the top of the launcher is visible in the lower part of the image, with the top of the Vehicle Equipment Bay (VEB) running as an iris around the central adapter cone onto which the Planck spacecraft will be secured through the ACU.