The Heart of Herschel is complete.
ESA TV Ex-changes
With a revolutionary 3.5 metre primary mirror, Herschel will be the largest space telescope ever launched. Its helium-cooled sensitive science instruments will have the potential to penetrate the unknown areas of the cold, early universe. ESA's far-infrared space observatory has today reached a milestone. The spacecraft's two major parts, service module and science payload have been mated at EADS Astrium facilities in Friedrichshafen, Germany. After further assembly work, the satellite will be subjected to environmental and system tests in view of an Ariane 5 launch next year.
The video transmission includes an A-Roll mission overview, interviews with ESA and Astrium project managers and ESA project scientist, together with exclusive views of the assembled spacecraft and new 3D animations.
The script is online as a PDF file under http://television.esa.int/photos/EbS53576.pdf
A WMV preview clip is online under http://esatv-movies.e-vision.nl/videos/mphi/

The heart of Herschel is complete
A-Roll
10 :00 :40 (Hubble animation zoom into Tarantula Nebula) Clearly visible in the Southern sky, the Tarantula Nebula, seen here with the Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest stellar nursery known in the local Universe, a region of intense star formation. (animation star formation disc + galaxy colour change) But much of the universe is hidden from view, its light being emitted at longer, infrared, wavelengths. Radiation that can show scientists how stars, solar systems and galaxies were formed and evolved. (Lake Constance, Astrium exterior shots, then wide-shot views of Herschel spacecraft) In Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance in southern Germany, engineers in the Astrium clean rooms have reached a milestone in the construction of the largest ever infrared space observatory. The European Space Agencyís Herschel mission is due to launch next year. The two main parts of the spacecraft have just been assembled.
10:01:31 (So