Lifting Herschel from the Large Space Simulator
Date: 07 January 2009
Satellite: Herschel
Depicts: Flight model spacecraft being hoisted out of the LSS
Location: ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Copyright: ESA
In December 2008, the Herschel flight model spacecraft successfully completed the last series of environmental tests inside the Large Space Simulator (LSS). On 8 January 2009 Herschel was removed from the LSS.
This image shows Herschel as it is being lifted out of the LSS. The telescope is covered by a protective foil to protect the contamination sensitive surface of the telescope's primary mirror.
Visible in the lower centre, standing inside the LSS, is the custom-build radiator which simulated the thermal radiation of the Sun onto Herschel's large solar array and sunshield during the environmental tests.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
