The Herschel ground segment can be divided into five major elements: the Mission Operations Centre (MOC), the Herschel Science Centre (HSC), and the three Instrument Control Centres (ICCs). In addition the Nasa Herschel Science Center (NHSC) at IPAC/Caltech has been established to support the U.S. community.

The ICCs are responsible for the calibration and successful operation of their instrument, starting from the instrument level. They also provide documentation, software, calibration files and procedures for the scientific processing of the raw data. Their final task will be the consolidation of data, software, and documentation for the Herschel legacy archive.

The PACS ICC is located at the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) in Garching, Germany. During development phase, different institutes have set up groups under local management which work on, or provide significant contributions to, certain workpackages. Operational tasks will be carried out at the ICC.During the operations phase most of the institute staff will be located at the ICC in Garching.

See the ICC composition and management structure.