In the OT2 process all remaining Herschel observing time will be awarded. No further calls are foreseen.
At the present time there is some uncertainty as to exactly how much observing time can be allocated in OT2. By now Herschel has a known track record with respect to observing efficiency, thus the remaining main contribution to this uncertainty is the overall mission lifetime. See further Chapter 5 in the Policies and Procedures document.
By a joint agreement between Herschel and XMM-Newton in the current OT2 AO process there is up to 500 ks of XMM-Newton observing time available for allocation by the HOTAC for joint Herschel/XMM-Newton observing programmes under certain conditions.
The sequence of dates for the current first in-flight Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Herschel Open Time (OT2) is as follows:
9 June 2011: The Herschel OT2 Announcement of Opportunity is issued. Phase 1 OT2 proposals can be submitted.
20-21 June 2011: A Herschel Observation Planning Workshop will be organised by the HSC in ESAC, Madrid, and simultaneously by the NHSC in IPAC, Pasadena.
15 September 2011 at 12:00 UT: Submission deadline for Phase 1 OT2 proposals. Start of technical and HOTAC evaluation process for these proposals.
23 September 2011: Submission deadline for NASA Data Analysis funding for investigators based in the USA only.
8-11 November 2011: HOTAC meeting, after which the recommendation on OT2 proposals will be provided to ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration (D/SRE) for approval.
24 November 2011: Announcement of approved proposals and start of Phase 2 data entry.