CHEOPS
CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite) is a European space telescope. Its objective is to determine the size of known extrasolar planets, which will allow the estimation of their mass, density, composition and their formation. Launched on 18 December 2019, it is the first Small-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision science programme.
An artist's impression of the CHEOPS space observatory | |
| Mission type | Exoplanetology, astrophysics |
|---|---|
| Operator | Swiss Space Office / ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2019-092B |
| SATCAT no. | 44874 |
| Website | cheops sci |
| Mission duration | 3.5 years (nominal) + 3 years (extended) Elapsed: 4 years, 1 month and 28 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Space observatory |
| Bus | SEOSAT |
| Manufacturer | Airbus Defence and Space (Spain) |
| Launch mass | 273 kg |
| Payload mass | 58 kg |
| Dimensions | 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in × 4 ft 11 in × 4 ft 11 in) |
| Power | 64 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 18 December 2019, 08:54:20 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-ST-A (Soyuz VS23) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELS |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 712 km (442 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 715 km (444 mi) |
| Inclination | 92.80° |
| Period | 90.00 minutes |
| Main telescope | |
| Type | Ritchey–Chrétien frame-transfer back-side illuminated CCD |
| Diameter | 32 cm |
| Focal ratio | f/8 |
| Wavelengths | 330 to 1100 nm |
| Transponders | |
| Capacity | 1.2 Gbit/day downlink |
| Instruments | |
| Photometer | |
CHEOPS mission patch | |
The small satellite features an optical Ritchey–Chrétien telescope with an aperture of 30 cm, mounted on a standard small satellite platform. It was placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit of about 700 km altitude.
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