Ariane 62 - PLATO - January 2027

[Targeteer]

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Plato/Plato_s_structural_test_campaign

From May to August 2023 a structural model of ESA’s next exoplanet mission, Plato, is undergoing a test campaign at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre, at Noordwijk in the Netherlands. Plato is planned to launch on an Ariane 6 in 2026. During lift-off Plato will have to withstand intense vibrations and immense blasts of noise. To make sure the satellite can survive the start of its journey to space, engineers test its structural integrity beforehand.
Structural model

The version of Plato undergoing these tests is not the satellite that will fly in space, but a detailed structural model used for testing the spacecraft during its development. The series of tests evaluate the qualification limits of the satellite structure to check if it can withstand the launcher’s loads and minimise the risk to the real satellite. Importantly, they also verify the interfaces between different parts, such as the sunshield and the satellite’s main body, and between Plato’s 26 cameras and the optical bench they are mounted on. This campaign was successfully finalised in the beginning of June.

During the first part of the test campaign, Plato’s structural model was placed on top of two shakers, the Multi shaker and the QUAD shaker, to simulate the vibrations encountered during launch. The Multi shaker moved Plato in the left-right and forward-backward directions. The QUAD shaker, pictured below, simulated oscillations in the up-down direction. Together the shakers can test spacecraft up to 10 000 kg for vibrations in three dimensions. This series of tests was essential to make sure Plato can survive the first two minutes of launch, during which the most extreme shocks are encountered.
Acoustic tests

After the shaker test, Plato was moved to the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF), the green room in the pictures. In this chamber, the noise of a rocket taking off can be simulated. This large space measures 11 by 9 metres and is 16.4-m high. One wall is equipped with multiple noise horns, that have a similar design as ordinary audio speakers. Nitrogen is shot through the horns and can produce noise up to 156 decibels. Meanwhile Plato itself was ringed by microphones, used to check the acoustic environment surrounding the model. During testing the LEAF’s massive door stays shut and no one is allowed into the chamber: it is surrounded by a 0.5-m-thick layer of concrete to keep the noise in. Plato passed its noise test with flying colours.

During the next two years, Plato’s flight model, which is the real spacecraft that will fly into space, will be completed and tested. The flight model will go through various thermal and mechanical tests to make sure Plato will perform well and meet its scientific requirements.

[jacqmans]

Planet hunter Plato to fly on Ariane 6
29/01/2025

Today, the European Space Agency (ESA) Director of Science, Carole Mundell, ESA Director of Space Transportation, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, and Arianespace Chief Commercial Officer, Steven Rutgers, signed the launch agreement to fly ESA’s scientific mission Plato; the formal step took place at the European Space Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

Plato, PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is ESA’s groundbreaking mission to discover potentially habitable planets around stars similar to our Sun, and study thousands of exoplanets in detail, focusing on terrestrial ones.

Plato will board the Ariane 6 with two boosters for a launch from Europe’s Spaceport, in French Guiana, end of 2026, and will be placed into orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2.

“This is the first science mission that our new rocket Ariane 6 will launch,” said Toni Tolker-Nielsen, “and the first mission that the versatile launcher will send to the Lagrange point 2, 1.5 million km from the launch pad, a new destination for our heavy-lift rocket to show its prowess.”

“Most of ESA’s Science flagship missions have been launched on Ariane rockets. From Rosetta to Webb and Juice, Arianespace has ensured exquisitely accurate delivery of our precious technologies into deep space, increasing mission lifetimes and scientific performance,” added Carole Mundell. “So it comes naturally to launch Plato on Europe’s newest rocket, confident that it will take our spacecraft exactly where it must be.”

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Plato/Planet_hunter_Plato_to_fly_on_Ariane_6#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=90dbb6c2-dcf8-460a-ad49-701ea9c2569c

[StraumliBlight]

The mission is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 in December 2026.

Thales Alenia Space Linkedin [Aug 26]

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), European Space Agency - ESA's flagship mission dedicated to the detection and observation of exoplanets, has reached a new milestone.

Our teams have successfully completed the integration and testing of the sunshield solar array subsystem in our clean rooms in Cannes, as well as the acoustic testing sequence under the supervision of Beyond Gravity. This key subsystem has been shipped to ESA’s ESTEC Test Center in the Netherlands, where it will be integrated into the PLATO spacecraft by OHB SE, the program's prime contractor, in September 2025.

With its 26 cameras, PLATO is set to identify and characterize planetary systems similar to our own solar system, targeting in particular those with planets located in the habitability zone of their host star, where water can exist in liquid form on the surface. PLATO will thus deepen our understanding of stars and the evolution of entire planetary systems.

[jacqmans]

Plato arrived at ESA’s test centre by boat
11/09/2025

The European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. There, engineers will complete the spacecraft by connecting its solar panels and sunshield, and carry out a series of critical tests to confirm that Plato is fit for launch and ready for its planet-hunting mission in space.

The two main parts of the Plato spacecraft were recently joined together at OHB's cleanroom in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. On 1 September, Plato arrived in the Netherlands by boat from Germany via the Rhine River. The vessel transporting it moored a few km away from ESTEC.

From there, Plato was driven to ESA’s centre by special transport, carefully unloaded, and then moved to a cleanroom.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Plato/Plato_arrived_at_ESA_s_test_centre_by_boat#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=293639b4-a806-4246-8c26-3ca654680000

[catdlr]

Earth-like planet hunter spacecraft 'spreads its wings' in ESA cleanroom

Oct 10, 2025
The European Space Agency's Plato spacecraft has been fully assembled in a cleanroom at ESA's Test Centre in the Netherlands.

Credit: ESA – Rowan Moorkens O'Reilly (ATG Europe)

[StraumliBlight]

https://twitter.com/esascience/status/1988593431262966215

In October 2025, engineers fitted the sunshield and solar panels, completing the construction of @ESA_Plato.

The mission is on track for the final key tests to confirm that it is fit for launch on an Ariane 6, in December 2026.

[StraumliBlight]

[02:28] "The planned launch date is between January and March 2027 with ESA's PLATO satellite. Being launched with PLATO has shortened all the schedules."

HENON

ESA’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat Henon takes shape [Oct 29]

The European Space Agency’s upcoming Henon mission will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and manoeuvre to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft. Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/esascience/status/2011725529020301409

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/01/Plato_passes_vibe_check

Plato passes vibe check

Plato, the European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets, successfully passed a first round of tests designed to ensure that the spacecraft is fit for launch. As this video shows, the tests consist of vigorously shaking the spacecraft to mimic the powerful jolts and vibrations that Plato will experience during launch.

These so-called ‘vibration tests’, are arranged in three parts. In this clip, we see the phase when the spacecraft, mounted on a ‘quad’ shaker, is jolted up and down (Z axis). In the other two stages, on top a ‘lateral’ shaker, the spacecraft is jiggled back and forth sideways in two perpendicular directions (X and Y axes).

Each test run lasts one minute, during which the frequency of the oscillations is gradually increased from 5 to 100 oscillations per second (hertz). At the higher frequencies we can no longer perceive the movement, but we hear the spacecraft’s internal rumbling caused by the fast shaking. The sound comes in waves, becoming louder when the shaker hits resonance frequencies and makes the spacecraft vibrate more intensely.

The first couple of minutes of a satellite's spaceflight are the toughest, as it sustains the extreme vibration of lift-off. By subjecting the spacecraft with these dramatic stresses in advance of the real launch, engineers ensure that no piece of space hardware will be damaged during launch.

Plato is currently undertaking its tough exams to graduate for launch. After vibration tests, the spacecraft was placed inside ESA’s acoustic test chamber and blasted by deafening sound similar to what it will experience during lift-off. Also this test went as expected.

Next, engineers will move the spacecraft to the Large Space Simulator – Europe’s largest vacuum chamber – to verify that it can withstand the extreme temperatures and emptiness of space.

The mission is expected to be ready for launch by the end of the year. Lift-off on an Ariane 6 is planned in by Ariane Space for January 2027.

[Star One]

Plato passes vibe check: