Andrew Yee[_1_]
February 2nd 07, 01:22 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
1 February 2007
Planck satellite shows its beauty
Today, ESA's Planck satellite was on display for media gathered in Cannes.
The press event took place by the facility of Alcatel Alenia Space, Prime
Contractor for building the satellite. Special guest was George Smoot, Nobel
Prize for Physics in 2006 for his research on the Cosmic Microwave
background.
The press event was marked by the special participation of George F.Smoot
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, USA),
Nobel prize for Physics in 2006 together with John C. Mather (NASA), for
their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the Cosmic
Background Radiation -- Planck's object of study.
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.
A video-interview with George Smoot, commenting on the science to be
performed by Planck, can be viewed by clicking at:
* Video part 1
http://mfile.akamai.com/14448/wmv/esa.download.akamai.com/13452/wmv/PLANCK_SMOOT_3_wmp_high.asx
* Video part 2
http://mfile.akamai.com/14448/wmv/esa.download.akamai.com/13452/wmv/PLANCK_SMOOT4_wmp_high.asx
The beauty of Planck, a true technology jewel designed to survive in cold
space and operate at temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15 C), can be
admired in the photos below.
Note to editors
By the end of February, Planck will have completed its integration. Between
that moment and Planck's launch in mid-2008, there remain a number of
important, additional milestones. For example, the entire spacecraft must be
tested at a special cryogenic facility built at the Centre Spatial de Lie,
Universitde Lie, Belgium.
The test is necessary because the instruments must be operated at extremely
cold temperatures," says Thomas Passvogel, ESA Project Manager for Herschel
and Planck. "In the case of HFI, the operating temperature is just one tenth
of a degree above absolute zero."
On launch day itself, Planck will be lofted into space by an Ariane-5 rocket
from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Inside the nose cone,
Planck will be keeping company with ESA's Herschel infrared space telescope.
With a 3.5 metre mirror, Herschel will be the orbiting telescope with the
largest mirror ever deployed in space. Together Planck and Herschel will
survey the cold Universe. Instead of looking for the formation of the
Universe, however, Herschel's primary mission will be to see the formation
of stars and galaxies.
For more information:
ESA Media Relations Office
Tel: +33(0)1 53 69 7155
Fax: +33(0)1 53 69 7690
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMM3XSMTWE_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
1 February 2007
Planck satellite shows its beauty
Today, ESA's Planck satellite was on display for media gathered in Cannes.
The press event took place by the facility of Alcatel Alenia Space, Prime
Contractor for building the satellite. Special guest was George Smoot, Nobel
Prize for Physics in 2006 for his research on the Cosmic Microwave
background.
The press event was marked by the special participation of George F.Smoot
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, USA),
Nobel prize for Physics in 2006 together with John C. Mather (NASA), for
their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the Cosmic
Background Radiation -- Planck's object of study.
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.
A video-interview with George Smoot, commenting on the science to be
performed by Planck, can be viewed by clicking at:
* Video part 1
http://mfile.akamai.com/14448/wmv/esa.download.akamai.com/13452/wmv/PLANCK_SMOOT_3_wmp_high.asx
* Video part 2
http://mfile.akamai.com/14448/wmv/esa.download.akamai.com/13452/wmv/PLANCK_SMOOT4_wmp_high.asx
The beauty of Planck, a true technology jewel designed to survive in cold
space and operate at temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15 C), can be
admired in the photos below.
Note to editors
By the end of February, Planck will have completed its integration. Between
that moment and Planck's launch in mid-2008, there remain a number of
important, additional milestones. For example, the entire spacecraft must be
tested at a special cryogenic facility built at the Centre Spatial de Lie,
Universitde Lie, Belgium.
The test is necessary because the instruments must be operated at extremely
cold temperatures," says Thomas Passvogel, ESA Project Manager for Herschel
and Planck. "In the case of HFI, the operating temperature is just one tenth
of a degree above absolute zero."
On launch day itself, Planck will be lofted into space by an Ariane-5 rocket
from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Inside the nose cone,
Planck will be keeping company with ESA's Herschel infrared space telescope.
With a 3.5 metre mirror, Herschel will be the orbiting telescope with the
largest mirror ever deployed in space. Together Planck and Herschel will
survey the cold Universe. Instead of looking for the formation of the
Universe, however, Herschel's primary mission will be to see the formation
of stars and galaxies.
For more information:
ESA Media Relations Office
Tel: +33(0)1 53 69 7155
Fax: +33(0)1 53 69 7690
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMM3XSMTWE_index_1.html ]