Airbus Defense And Space Ready To Start Testing On CHEOPS | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.13.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.14.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Mon, Oct 19, 2015

Airbus Defense And Space Ready To Start Testing On CHEOPS

Spacecraft Will Be The First European Exoplanet Tracker

Airbus Defense and Space has finished building the structural model for ESA’s CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite), Europe’s first mission to search for exoplanetary transits by performing ultra-high precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets.

Airbus Defense and Space, as prime contractor of CHEOPS, is preparing the first spacecraft test campaign in Spain. The structure of the platform has been fitted with mass dummies to represent the different equipment of the satellite, and the thermomechanical model of the instrument has also been integrated. The structural model will now undergo mechanical qualification through the end of the year. Once it is qualified, the structure will later be used as flight model.

The proposed design for CHEOPS is based on the AstroBus family of satellite platforms, and uses the AstroBus-S model. Other missions based on the AstroBus series include SPOT 6 and 7, KazEOSat-1, the Sentinel-5 Precursor, PeruSat-1 and the MetOp Second Generation satellites.

Work is progressing rapidly according to schedule and Airbus Defense and Space teams in Spain are working hard to meet the demanding deadline since CHEOPS is ESA’s first small-class mission, to be launch-ready in December 2017.

The satellite consists of a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope integrated in a standard small platform. Over three and a half years, from its dedicated low-Earth orbit, it will observe bright and nearby stars that are known to have a planetary system. One of the main objectives of CHEOPS is to determine the radii of planets with masses that are already known as a result of studies using ground-based observatories. This will then allow deductions to be made as to their size and density in order to classify them as rocky, gas or other types of planets.

CHEOPS was selected in October 2012 from among 26 scientific proposals and has an estimated cost of €50 million (approx. $57 million) for the complete mission.

(Image provided with Airbus news release)

FMI: www.airbus.com

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: Remembering Bob Hoover

From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]

ANN FAQ: Follow Us On Instagram!

Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.15.24)

Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.15.24):Altimeter Setting

Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.16.24)

"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC