Planck

Launch data: Designation  34938 / 09026B Launch date  14 Mai 2009 - 13:12 UT Launch site  Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle  Ariane-5ECA (V-188) Mission  Astronomy Heliocentric orbit Perihelion / Aphelion   A.U. Eccentricity   Inclination   deg To operate over L2 point Period   min

Image Credit: European Space Agency

Spacecraft data:

Descriptions:

• Planck is Europe′s first mission to study the relic radiation from the Big Bang. Ever since the detection of small fluctuations in the temperature of this radiation, announced in late 1992, astronomers have used the fluctuations to understand both the origin of the Universe and the formation of galaxies.
• The mission is named after the German physicist Max Planck, whose work on the behaviour of radiation won the Nobel Prize in 1918.
• The Planck satellite will observe the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). This is the radiation released into the Universe by the Big Bang itself, about 14 thousand million years ago. Since that time, what was once a searing fireball has cooled to become a background sea of microwaves.
• Planck will measure the temperature variations across this microwave background with much better sensitivity, angular resolution and frequency range than any previous satellite. The combination of these factors will give astronomers an unprecedented view of our Universe when it was extremely young: just 380 000 years old

Mission details:

• Planck is also an astronomical satellite launched for the European Space Agency and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space: it was originally known as COBRAS-SAMBA (Cosmic Background Radiation Anisotropy Satellite – Satellite for Measurement of Background Anisotropies) Satellite is drum-shaped, 4.2 metres diameter and 4.2 metres high. It carries a 1.5 metres diameter telescope with two instruments designated Low Frequency Instrument and High Frequency Instrument. The satellite is intended to measure the temperature of the cosmic microwave background over the whole sky. Planned operational life is about 21 months.
• No orbital data have been issued for this launch: this is due to the problems of tracking objects in such an eccentric Earth orbit. The two satellites are to be located at the L2 (Lagrange 2) Point, located on the Sun-Earth line, about 1.5 million km beyond the Earth.
• Planck made a course correction on Jun 5, 2009 and is slowly activating its instruments.
• Aug 2013: After completing their very successful missions, at the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange Point 1.5 million km towards midnight, the spacecraft have now been sent into solar orbit and will be deactivated.
  Herschel departed L2 on Apr 1, 2013 and was turned off on Jun 17; it is in a 1.04 x 1.06 AU x 0.19 deg solar orbit.
  Planck departed L2 on Aug 14, 2013 for a 1.00 x 1.10 AU x 0.1 deg orbit and will be switched off on Oct 23.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Kourou.

Headquarter cancel Paris.