Astrophysics

Planck

Completed

Image: Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Launched: 14 May 200913:12:00 UTC
Last contact: 23 Oct 201312:10:27 UTC
End declared: 23 Oct 2013
Duration: 4 years 5 months
Destinations: Sun–Earth L2

An ESA mission that mapped the cosmic microwave background in greater detail than any before it, giving the most precise measurements of the age and contents of the Universe.

Milestones

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2010201120122013

Spacecraft

Planck

Telescope

Completed

Spinning satellite with a 1.5 m telescope and detectors cooled to a tenth of a degree above absolute zero.

Launch mass: 1,921 kg
Dry mass: 1,537 kg
Size: 4 m × 4.5 m
Power: Solar
Built by: Thales Alenia Space
Last contact: 23 Oct 2013, 12:10:27 UTC
End declared: 23 Oct 2013
Designator: 2009-026B

Mission details from esa.int.