Herschel Mission
The Herschel Space Observatory ( formerly the Far Infra-Red and Sub-millimetre Telescope) is the fourth cornerstone mission in ESA's horizon 2000 programme, and with a 3.5m primary mirror it will be the biggest space telescope yet flown. Herschel will provide the astronomical community with a powerful multi-purpose observatory capable of observations in the relatively un-explored 50-700mm wavelength range.
Two key science goals for the Herschel mission are the study of the total energy output and star-formation rate when the universe was about 1/3rd its current age, and observations of the birth and life-cycle of stars. Herschel will be launched jointly with the PLANCK mission in 2006 and after reaching orbit the two telescopes will separate and be operated independently.