First day of SPIRE, switch on the Photometer

The Photometer was successfully switched on: all detectors changed from black to orange, except those which were known from ground tests not to be active (they turned white). The detectors (bolometers) are too warm, they are at 1.9-2.0 K and in this condition they act as resistors. For their normal function they need to be at 300 mK, which will be possible after the cooler is recycled and the evaporation of He3 starts (planned for day 8).

This is how we look at the signals from the instrument. The tool is called QLA (from quick look analysis) and it connects to a real time telemetry database. The telemetry coming from the satellite during the daily telecommunication periods.