The highly sensitive scientific payload of the LISA Pathfinder Mission (LPF) was now completed and integrated into the satellite after more than 10 years of intense development. The science instruments are the core of the mission.
Next steps: Shipment to Kourou and launch in autumn
While the LPF scientists continue preparing for LPF mission operations, the industrial partner Airbus DS supervised by the European Space Agency (ESA) is running the final tests on the assembled spacecraft. Shipment to the ESA spaceport Kourou in French Guyana is planned in August and mission lift-off on a Vega launcher in the autumn. The mission operations phase will begin once LPF has reached its destination: for a period of several months the scientist will test the high-precision science instruments on board while maintaining regular contact with the satellite
Credit: AEI / Milde Marketing