CHEOPS ground segment: Systems and automation for mission and science operations
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is the first European Space Agency (ESA) small-class mission. It has been performing photometric astronomical observations with a particular emphasis on exoplanetary science for the past five years. A distinctive feature of CHEOPS is that the responsibility for all operational aspects of the mission lies with the CHEOPS consortium rather than ESA. As a result, all subsystems, their architecture, and operational processes have been independently developed and tailored specifically to CHEOPS. This paper offers an overview of the CHEOPS operational subsystems, the design, and the automation framework that compose the two main components of the CHEOPS ground segment: the Mission Operations Center (MOC) and the Science Operations Center (SOC). This comprehensive description of the CHEOPS workflow aims to serve as a reference and potential source of inspiration for future small and/or independent space missions.
Source: Astronomy and Computing
Authors: Alexis Heitzmann, María J. González Bonilla, Anja Bekkelien, Babatunde Akinsanmi, Mathias O.W. Beck, Nicolas Billot, Christopher Broeg, Adrien Deline, David Ehrenreich, Andrea Fortier, Marcus G.F. Kirsch, Monika Lendl, Nuria Alfaro Llorente, Naiara Fernández de Bobadilla Vallano, María Fuentes Tabas, Anthony G. Maldonado, Eva M. Vega Carrasco, David Modrego Contreras
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,260
OpenAlex ID: W4415681152