Herschel Space Observatory
Artist's impression of the Herschel spacecraft
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| Names | Far Infrared and Submillimetre Telescope | ||||||||
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| Mission type | Space telescope | ||||||||
| Operator | ESA / NASA | ||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2009-026A | ||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 34937 | ||||||||
| Website | http://www.esa.int/herschel | ||||||||
| Mission duration | Planned: 3 years Final: 4 years, 1 month, 2 days |
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| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||
| Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space | ||||||||
| Launch mass | 3,400 kg (7,500 lb) | ||||||||
| Payload mass | Telescope: 315 kg (694 lb) | ||||||||
| Dimensions | 7.5 m × 4.0 m (25 ft × 13 ft) | ||||||||
| Power | 1 kW | ||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||
| Launch date | 14 May 2009, 13:12:02 UTC | ||||||||
| Rocket | Ariane 5 ECA | ||||||||
| Launch site |
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana |
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| Contractor | Arianespace | ||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||
| Disposal | Decommissioned | ||||||||
| Deactivated | 17 June 2013, 12:25 UTC | ||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||
| Reference system |
L2 point (1,500,000 km / 930,000 mi) |
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| Regime | Lissajous | ||||||||
| Main telescope | |||||||||
| Type | Ritchey–Chrétien | ||||||||
| Diameter | 3.5 m (11 ft) f/0.5 (primary mirror) |
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| Focal length | 28.5 m (94 ft) f/8.7 |
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| Collecting area | 9.6 m2 (103 sq ft) | ||||||||
| Wavelengths | 55 to 672 µm (far infrared) | ||||||||
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| Instruments | |
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| HIFI | Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared |
| PACS | Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer |
| SPIRE | Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver |
ESA astrophysics insignia for the Herschel mission
The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched, carrying a single 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO/Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta. NASA is a partner in the Herschel mission, with US participants contributing to the mission; providing mission-enabling instrument technology and sponsoring the NASA Herschel Science Center (NHSC) at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and the Herschel Data Search at the Infrared Science Archive.
The observatory was carried into orbit in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth–Sun system, 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) from Earth, about two months later. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.
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