PLATO

The mission

The PLATO spacecraft and its two main modules. Credit: OHB System AG
The PLATO spacecraft and its two main modules.
Credit: OHB System AG
(source: https://sci.esa.int/web/plato/-/42279-spacecraft)

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is a medium-class astronomical science mission belonging to ESAs Cosmic Vision Programme, which is dedicated to the detection and characterization of terrestrial exoplanets. For this purpose, PLATO will be placed in an orbit around the L2 Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system. By performing long uninterrupted high precision observations of large samples of stars, the planetary transits can be detected and characterized by measuring and analyzing the light curves of the stars. The operational lifetime of PLATO is 6.5 years.

OHB Contributions

The contract between OHB System and ESA  was signed in October 2018 and assigns to OHB System the status of Prime Contractor for the entire satellite.

OHB Hellas is a selected contractor and is responsible for Requirements and Documentation Management.

Customer/User

European Space Agency (ESA)

Core Team Partners:  Thales Alenia Space (France and the UK) and RUAG Space

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