Author Topic: ESA - CHEOPS updates  (Read 47841 times)

Offline bolun

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ESA - CHEOPS updates
« on: 09/24/2013 08:38 pm »
CHEOPS - CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite

CHEOPS - CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite - will be the first mission dedicated to searching for exoplanetary transits by performing ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. It will provide the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a subset of those planets, in the super-Earth to Neptune mass range, for which the mass has already been estimated using ground-based spectroscopic surveys. CHEOPS will also provide precision radii for new planets of Neptune-size and smaller that are discovered by the next generation of ground-based transit surveys.

On 19 October 2012 CHEOPS was selected for study as the first S-class mission in Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. Formal adoption of the mission is expected in late 2013, with launch planned for 2017.

http://sci.esa.int/cosmic-vision/49469-cheops/

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CHEOPS web page: http://cheops.unibe.ch

ESA - S class mission - 2017 - candidates: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28309.0
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Image credit: University of Bern
« Last Edit: 10/25/2016 05:01 pm by bolun »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #1 on: 09/24/2013 08:40 pm »
ESA selects SSTL to design Exoplanet misión

11 Sep 2013

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the competitive design phase of CHEOPS - a satellite that will improve mankind’s understanding of exoplanets (planets orbiting distant stars outside our solar system). The contractor selection for the implementation phase is planned by mid-2014 and the launch is scheduled late 2017.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/news-and-events/2013/Sep/cheops

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #2 on: 01/31/2014 01:01 pm »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #3 on: 07/16/2014 08:06 pm »
CHEOPS exoplanet mission meets key milestones en route to 2017 launch

11 July 2014

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/54321-cheops-exoplanet-mission-meets-key-milestones-en-route-to-2017-launch/

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ESA’s first small Science Programme mission is ready for construction. The implementation phase has started, meaning that the spacecraft has gone from selection to implementation in less than 18 months.

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CHEOPS was selected by ESA in October 2012 from 26 proposals that were submitted in response to the announcement of the small mission programme. It was officially adopted into the Science Programme in February this year. Capped to an ESA cost of €50 million, it is being developed in collaboration with the Swiss Space Office (SSO), a division of the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), and the University of Bern, Switzerland. The Swiss organisations lead the consortium of 11 ESA Member States contributing to the mission and represented in the CHEOPS Science Team. The spacecraft will be built by Airbus Defence and Space, Spain.

Quote
CHEOPS will most likely be launched as a passenger on a Soyuz or Vega launcher from Kourou at the end of 2017.

Image credit: ESA - C. Carreau

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #4 on: 09/23/2014 03:48 pm »
Announcement of opportunity for membership in the CHEOPS science team

19 September 2014

The Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a small mission in the ESA Science Programme. Proposals are solicited for membership in the CHEOPS Science Team. Scientists from institutions located in ESA Member States are invited to apply. The deadline for receipt of applications is 22 October 2014 (12:00 noon CEST).

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/53822-announcement-of-opportunity-for-membership-in-the-cheops-science-team/

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #5 on: 05/08/2015 01:07 pm »
http://sci.esa.int/cheops/55889-send-your-drawing-into-space-with-cheops/

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ESA and its mission partners are inviting children to submit drawings that will be miniaturised and engraved on two plaques that will be put on the satellite.

« Last Edit: 05/08/2015 01:17 pm by bolun »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #6 on: 07/14/2015 09:41 am »
#1: CHEOPS spacecraft hardware delivery

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/56102-1-cheops-spacecraft-hardware-delivery/

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CHEOPS is now moving steadily from a paper design to the hardware phase. Over the last couple of months the Instrument Consortium, led by the University of Bern, has taken delivery of the first hardware from Airbus Defence and Space (ADS)–Spain, the prime contractor for the CHEOPS platform. These deliveries included the Platform Simulator, as well as the platform panels for instrument assembly and handling, the Star Tracker Optical Head Assemblies with their associated multi-layer insulation (MLI), and the support structure for the Baffle Cover Assembly.

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #7 on: 10/02/2015 02:13 pm »
CHEOPS spacecraft structural model

The spacecraft Structural Model, composed of the instrument Structural and Thermal Model and the platform Structural Qualification Model, ready for the start of the environmental test campaign at ADS-Spain.

The spacecraft Structural Model will undergo a series of mechanical tests, including sine vibration, acoustic and shock tests.

Related article: #2: CHEOPS prepares for first spacecraft test campaign

Image credit: ADS-Spain

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/56533-cheops-spacecraft-structural-model/


Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #8 on: 11/13/2015 02:09 pm »
CHEOPS in front of the LEAF acoustic chamber at ESTEC

The CHEOPS spacecraft on its ground support trolley, shortly before being placed in the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF) test chamber at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on 5 November 2015.

Related article: #3 Simulated sound of launch for CHEOPS

Image credit: ESA - C. Carreau

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/56807-cheops-in-front-of-the-leaf-acoustic-chamber-at-estec/

Offline jacqmans

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #9 on: 11/15/2015 12:28 pm »
Cheops entering acoustic chamber
 
A test model of ESA’s exoplanet-watching Cheops satellite being placed in an acoustic chamber in Europe’s largest spacecraft testing centre, helping to ensure the flight version can endure the extreme conditions of a rocket launch.
 
The Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite is ESA’s first small science mission. Selected in October 2012, it will track the crossings of known planets across the face of their parent stars, to make detailed deductions of their size and composition. The telescope will detect tiny shifts in stellar brightness with ultra-high precision.
 
Once the tests are completed, this ‘structural qualification model’ will be reconfigured as the actual satellite, helping to meet a tight development schedule that is aiming for launch readiness at the end of 2017 and a shared launch opportunity in the first half of 2018.
 
Cheops is seen here being moved into ESA’s Large European Acoustic Facility, capable of subjecting satellites to the same noise as a rocket produces as it takes off and flies through the atmosphere.
 
The chamber is an integral part of ESA’s ESTEC test centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, a collection of spaceflight simulation facilities under a single roof.
 
One wall of the chamber is embedded with a set of enormous sound horns. Nitrogen shot through the horns can produce a range of noise up to more than 154 decibels, like standing close to multiple jets taking off.
 
Credit: ESA–C. Carreau
Jacques :-)

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #10 on: 09/30/2016 01:44 pm »
#5: STEADY PROGRESS FOR CHEOPS

15 September 2016 22:38

The CHEOPS mission continues to make steady progress with a number of milestones being successfully met. In the past few months these have included the completion of the System Critical Design Review, the first EMC testing of the instrument, and the first release of the mission operations system.

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/58294-integration-of-cheops-flight-equipment/

Image credit: ADS-Spain

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #11 on: 12/29/2016 10:39 am »
#6: CHEOPS SOLAR ARRAYS TESTED AND BUILT

16 December 2016 11:26

Over the last 10 months, the CHEOPS solar cell assemblies have been put through their paces in the test facilities at industry and in the Solar Generator Laboratory of the Power Systems Division (TEC-EP) at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) as part of the qualification campaign. In parallel, the flight solar arrays have been manufactured and delivered.

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/58643-6-cheops-solar-arrays-tested-and-built/

Image credit:  ESA – C. Carreau

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #12 on: 05/06/2017 07:17 am »
#7: CHEOPS TELESCOPE ARRIVES AT NEW HOME

04 May 2017 10:15

A major milestone for the CHEOPS mission was passed on 28 April 2017, when the telescope flight model was delivered to the University of Bern by Leonardo-Finmeccanica, on behalf of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/59012-7-cheops-telescope-arrives-at-new-home/

Image credit: Leonardo-Finmeccanica

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #13 on: 07/15/2017 07:28 pm »
#8: PREPARING THE CHEOPS SPACECRAFT PLATFORM AND SIMULATING MISSION OPERATIONS

12 July 2017 11:54

In our previous update, we reported on the delivery of the CHEOPS telescope from Florence to Bern. While the scientific payload is being assembled in Switzerland, work in Spain has focused on preparing the spacecraft platform that will carry the payload and provide power, propulsion, communications, and thermal control.

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/59323-8-preparing-the-cheops-spacecraft-platform-and-simulating-mission-operations/

Image credit: ADS Spain

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #14 on: 11/03/2017 07:29 am »
Launch your design with Cheops

2 November 2017

ESA is offering graphic designers and artists a unique opportunity to feature their work on the rocket carrying the Cheops satellite.

The design will be placed on the Soyuz rocket’s fairing, the tough outer shell that protects the satellite during launch and as it passes through the atmosphere into space.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Launch_your_design_with_Cheops

Image credit: ESA

Offline Mike Jones

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #15 on: 11/03/2017 05:30 pm »
So CHEOPS will fly on a Soyuz from CSG.

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #16 on: 11/03/2017 05:52 pm »
So CHEOPS will fly on a Soyuz from CSG.
Yes:
Arianespace launch schedule: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=6114.msg1728089#msg1728089
2018:
December - CSG-1 (COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation-1), CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) - Soyuz ST-B/Fregat-MT - Kourou ELS (or H1 2019)
« Last Edit: 11/04/2017 12:09 am by russianhalo117 »

Offline jebbo

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #17 on: 11/13/2017 06:27 pm »
Quote
Calling all graphic designers & artists! Submit design to  feature on the rocket carrying #CHEOPS satellite 🚀  https://t.co/VZugX77wTV https://t.co/UUcFtmCHBb

https://twitter.com/esa/status/926120288965812231

--- Tony

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #18 on: 12/09/2017 02:04 pm »
#9: THE CHEOPS SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT IS COMPLETE

06 December 2017 13:15

The scientific instrument at the heart of the CHEOPS mission has been fully assembled, marking an important milestone in the development of this small, fast-track exoplanet-characterising mission.

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/59825-9-the-cheops-scientific-instrument-is-complete/

Image credit: University of Bern

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA - CHEOPS updates
« Reply #19 on: 12/19/2017 08:44 am »
#10: IT'S GETTING REAL: TESTING FLIGHT HARDWARE WITH MISSION CONTROL CODE

18 December 2017 10:08

With the flight models of the CHEOPS spacecraft and telescope maturing, crucial tests can now be run with real hardware in place of simulations. The latest such tests involved operating the payload with the Mission Control System to test and validate real operational command sequences.

http://sci.esa.int/cheops/59883-10-it-s-getting-real-testing-flight-hardware-with-mission-control-code/

Image credit: Airbus DS Space, Madrid

Tags: CHEOPS 
 

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