Cover of CHEOPS Space Telescope Open

Cheops in the clean room at Airbus, Madrid © ESA - S. Corvaja - Decisive moment for the CHEOPS space telescope: The cover was opened as intended on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 7:38 am. CHEOPS is now being tested for precision and the first images are being produced. CHEOPS is a joint mission of ESA and Switzerland, led by the University of Bern, in collaboration with the University of Geneva. "Shortly after the launch on December 18, 2019, we tested the communication with the satellite. Then, on January 8, 2020, we started the commissioning, that is, we booted the computer, carried out tests, and started up all the components," explains Willy Benz, professor of astrophysics at the University of Bern and Principal Investigator of the CHEOPS mission. All the tests went outstandingly well, he says. "However, we were now looking forward excitedly and with a bit of nervousness to the next decisive step: the opening of the CHEOPS cover," continues Benz.