The aim of the activity is the development of the mission operations centre (MOC) for CHEOPS and the CHEOPS spacecraft operations, from launch till the end of the nominal operational phase and S/C deorbiting.

 

 

The CHEOPS (Characterizing ExOPlanet Satellite) mission is dedicated to the search for planet transits by means of ultrahigh precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. Following the ESA Call for small class missions released in March 2012, the SPC selected in October 2012 CHEOPS as S1 mission in ESA Science Programme, with a target launch in 2017. The mission is carried out as a partnership between the ESA Science Programme and Switzerland, with important contributions from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Spain, cooperating within a dedicated mission consortium.

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ESA is the Mission Architect and in charge of the spacecraft development and launch. The contribution from the mission consortium includes:

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Following a parallel competitive phase A/B1, the prime contractor was selected for the following phase B2/C/D/E1 and the corresponding contract proposal was approved by IPC on 25 June 2014 (ESA/IPC(2014)93). The implementation phase includes the platform development, the spacecraft system level integration and test, and the support to the launch campaign and in-orbit commissioning.

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The proposed contract will include the following activities:

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