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ESA Signs Herschel And Planck Launch Contract
Paris, France (ESA) Dec 15, 2005 The European Space Agency and Arianespace signed a contract yesterday for the provision of an Ariane 5 ECA launcher for the Herschel and Planck spacecraft. Herschel will study the birth of galaxies and stars and Planck the very early history of the Universe. ESA Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, and Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall, for Arianespace, signed the contract during a ceremony that took place at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France. The Ariane 5 ECA, an upgraded version of the previous Ariane 5 G ('generic') launcher, successfully completed its qualification after its demonstration flight on 12 February and a commercial launch on 16 November this year. Herschel and Planck will be launched on the so-called 'long-fairing' version of Ariane 5 ECA to accommodate the two spacecraft, which are 7.5 metres and 4.2 metres high, respectively, with a total launch mass of 5.3 tons. The launcher will deliver both spacecraft on the transfer orbit towards their final observation site � an orbit around the second Lagrangian point (L2) situated at 1.5 million kilometres from Earth away from the Sun. Ariane 5 ECA, featuring an enhanced thrust and control capability, is perfectly suited to carry heavy loads like the Herschel and Planck couple into this particular and highly energy-demanding trajectory to destination. The Herschel and Planck launch is currently scheduled for launch in late 2007/early 2008. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Arianespace Herschel overview Planck overview SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com
Soyuz To Launch Radarsat-2
Evry, France (SPX) Jan 11, 2006Starsem announced Monday the signing of a contract with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) for the launch of MDA's RADARSAT-2 Earth observation satellite by a Soyuz launch vehicle. |
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