![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2018\/10\/cheops_in_maxwell_chamber\/17835230-1-eng-GB\/Cheops_in_Maxwell_chamber_small.jpg\")
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\nESA\u2019s exoplanet-characterising Cheops satellite being prepared for electromagnetic compatibility testing inside the Maxwell chamber at ESTEC, the Agency\u2019s technical heart in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n
\nOnce the chamber\u2019s main door is sealed, Maxwell<\/a>\u2019s 12 m-high metal walls form a \u2018Faraday Cage\u2019, blocking electromagnetic signals from outside. The \u2018anechoic\u2019 foam pyramids covering its interior absorb internal signals \u2013 as well as sound \u2013 to prevent any reflection, mimicking the infinite void of space.\n<\/p>\n \nOnce switched on Cheops was illuminated with a two-way radio beam. The satellite was then rotated and tilted through various angles to detect any potentially harmful electromagnetic \u2018cross-talk\u2019 that might occur between its subsystems. Testing also ruled out any radio emissions arising from the satellite that might interfere with its launcher during its rise to orbit.\n<\/p>\n \nESA\u2019s Cheops satellite will measure the sizes of known exoplanets by detecting tiny fluctuations in the light of their parent stars. Cheops, or \u2018CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite\u2019<\/a>, combines a state-of-the-art scientific performance with a compact design \u2013 1.5 m by 1.4 m by 1.5 m in size, it weighs in at about 300 kg fully fuelled \u2013 allowing it to be flown as a secondary passenger on a Soyuz launcher inside its ASAP-S adapter.\n<\/p>\n \nLast month, once its ESTEC test campaign was complete<\/a>, Cheops left ESTEC for Airbus Defence & Space\u2019s facility in Madrid to undergo further evaluation, including testing of its solar arrays, a \u2018leak check\u2019 of its propulsion module and a fit-check with its launcher adapter.\n<\/p>\n \nOnce all tests are done, the satellite is planned for launch next year from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nESA’s exoplanet-characterising Cheops satellite being prepared for electromagnetic compatibility testing inside the Maxwell chamber at ESTEC, the Agency’s technical heart in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n \nOnce the chamber’s main door is sealed, Maxwell<\/a>’s 12 m-high metal walls form a ‘Faraday Cage’, blocking electromagnetic signals from outside. The ‘anechoic’ foam pyramids covering its interior absorb internal signals – as well as sound – to prevent any reflection, mimicking the infinite void of space.\n<\/p>\n \nOnce switched on Cheops was illuminated with a two-way radio beam. The satellite was then rotated and tilted through various angles to detect any potentially harmful electromagnetic ‘cross-talk’ that might occur between its subsystems. Testing also ruled out any radio emissions arising from the satellite that might interfere with its launcher during its rise to orbit.\n<\/p>\n \nESA’s Cheops satellite will measure the sizes of known exoplanets by detecting tiny fluctuations in the light of their parent stars. Cheops, or ‘CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite’<\/a>, combines a state-of-the-art scientific performance with a compact design – 1.5 m by 1.4 m by 1.5 m in size, it weighs in at about 300 kg fully fuelled – allowing it to be flown as a secondary passenger on a Soyuz launcher inside its ASAP-S adapter.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n