Launch of the CHEOPS space telescope with Portuguese participation

Tomorrow, December 18, at 8:54 a.m. (mainland Portugal time), the CHEOPS - CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite space telescope is scheduled to launch, the new ESA mission with a Portuguese presence, namely the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA). IA will be broadcasting the CHEOPS launch live on its YouTube channel between 8.30am and 12.15pm.

The telescope will be launched into Earth orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket from the ESA launch base in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch broadcast will also feature interventions by IA researchers José Afonso, Sérgio Sousa (a member of the CHEOPS scientific team) and Manuel Abreu. From 11.15 a.m., researcher Susana Barros, who is also a member of the mission's scientific team, will answer questions posed by the public online via the broadcast chat.

The telescope will be positioned in Earth's orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometers and will have the task of observing bright stars that host exoplanets varying in size between Earth and Neptune.

The CHEOPS consortium is led by Switzerland and the ESA, with the participation of 11 European countries, and Portugal's scientific participation is led by the IA.