The Ariane 5 rocket has been checked out fine, and the launch date has now been set as 14th May. In the meantime, Planck has been fuelled with liquid hydrazine, (rocket fuel) which will allow it to navigate to L2 and once there change the direction its pointing in. It has also been fitted to …
Author archives: chrisnorth
Another slight slippage
It has just been announced that the launch will be delayed by “several days” to run a few final tests on parts of the Ariane 5 rocket. A saety issue has come to light following the results of some tests on identical parts of the rocket in Europe, and the launch team want to double …
New Launch Date Announced
After a short delay to double-check the safety of the Herschel satellite, the date for the dual launch of Planck and Herschel has been set to 6th May. The satellites will launch from the ESA spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana. Local launch parties will be happening in the UK to celebrate. [Update: the launch was …
Launch delayed
The launch of Planck and its sister-satellite Herschel has been delayed. The reason is to allow some final checks of all the software. These checks are important to ensure that changes don’t have to be made once the missions have begun. The new launch date has yet to be announced, though the delay is only …