Herschel

Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope, is stationed at the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system. Its 3.5-metre diameter collects long-wavelength infrared radiation from some of the coolest and most distant objects in the Universe. Herschel covers a wide range of wavelengths, from far-infrared to sub-millimetre. The longest of these wavelengths have not been covered before. The satellite was launched on 14 May 2009 with ESA's Planck microwave observatory, on board an Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.