![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2019\/03\/cheops_in_the_clean_room\/19289999-1-eng-GB\/Cheops_in_the_clean_room_small.jpg\")
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\nThe copper-coloured baffle cover of our Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, Cheops<\/a>, in the clean room at Airbus Defence and Space Spain, Madrid.\n<\/p>\n \nAfter completing spacecraft testing, the satellite has passed a very important review that determined it is ready to fly<\/a>. Cheops will be stored in Madrid for a few months before being shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana; launch is scheduled in the time slot between 15 October and 14 November 2019.\n<\/p>\n \nThe baffle cover pictured in this image is designed to protect the satellite\u2019s scientific instrument<\/a> \u2013 a powerful camera, or photometer \u2013 during assembly and launch. Once in space, the cover will open, allowing light from stars to enter the telescope.\n<\/p>\n \nCheops will make observations of exoplanet-hosting stars to measure small changes in their brightness due to the transit of a planet across the star’s disc, targeting in particular stars hosting planets in the Earth-to-Neptune size range. The information will enable precise measurements of the sizes of the orbiting planets to be made: combined with measurements of the planet masses, this will provide an estimate of their mean density \u2013 a first step to characterising planets<\/a> outside our Solar System.\n<\/p>\n \nCheops paves the way for the next generation of ESA\u2019s exoplanet satellites, with two further missions \u2013 Plato<\/a> and Ariel<\/a> \u2013 planned for the next decade to tackle different aspects of the evolving field of exoplanet science<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nMore information: CHEOPS is ready for flight<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nThe copper-coloured baffle cover of our Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, Cheops<\/a>, in the clean room at Airbus Defence and Space Spain, Madrid.\n<\/p>\n \nAfter completing spacecraft testing, the satellite has passed a very important review that determined it is ready to fly<\/a>. Cheops will be stored in Madrid for a few months before being shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana; launch is scheduled in the time slot between 15 October and 14 November 2019.\n<\/p>\n \nThe baffle cover pictured in this image is designed to protect the satellite’s scientific instrument<\/a> – a powerful camera, or photometer – during assembly and launch. Once in space, the cover will open, allowing light from stars to enter the telescope.\n<\/p>\n \nCheops will make observations of exoplanet-hosting stars to measure small changes in their brightness due to the transit of a planet across the star’s disc, targeting in particular stars hosting planets in the Earth-to-Neptune size range. The information will enable precise measurements of the sizes of the orbiting planets to be made: combined with measurements of the planet masses, this will provide an estimate of their mean density – a first step to characterising planets<\/a> outside our Solar System.\n<\/p>\n \nCheops paves the way for the next generation of ESA’s exoplanet satellites, with two further missions – Plato<\/a> and Ariel<\/a> – planned for the next decade to tackle different aspects of the evolving field of exoplanet science<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n