This manual was been written by initially Pedro García-Lario, Rosario Lorente, Bruno Merin, Miguel Sánchez-Portal and Mark Kidger (who acts as overall editor) and based on a structure initially produced by Timo Prusti, with additional inputs from Eva Verdugo and Asier Abreu.

The input of the instrument calibration scientists at the Herschel Science Centre and of Project Scientist Goeran Pilbratt has been fundamental in preparing this document and checking the information presented here. Several Herschel Science Team members made careful and thoughtful comments on the contents of the document at various stages - their time and effort was greatly appreciated. Alexi Glover of the ESA Space Situation Awareness Team has provided specialist advice on solar activity and solar proton storms and their interpretation.

During post-Operations revision Jon Brumfitt proved to be a mine of information about many aspects of Operations that had been forgotten over the years, showing the sort of compendious knowledge of the system that one normally associates with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (although, to my knowledge he does not have the words "Don't Panic" written in large, friendly letters anywhere on his body).