A Herschel Science Centre (HSC), provided by ESA, located at ESAC, Madrid. The HSC, supported by the NASA Herschel Science Center (NHSC), located at IPAC, acts as the point of interface to the science community and the outside world in general. The HSC is supported by the Herschel Science Team, for the maximisation of the scientific return of the mission, and by the Herschel Observing Time Allocation Committee (HOTAC) for the selection of observing proposals.

Three dedicated Instrument Control Centres (ICCs), one for each instrument, provided by the respective PI. Each ICC is responsible for enabling the operation and for the calibration of its instrument.

A Mission Operations Centre (MOC), provided by ESA, located at ESOC, Darmstadt, which is responsible for the execution of all in-orbit operations.