This is Cheops satellite located in the clean room of Airbus Defense and Space (Spain) in Madrid. This satellite should be engaged in observing stars with exoplanets (transit method).
The extracted information will allow you to accurately determine the size of the orbital planets, in particular in the Earth-Neptune mass range. In combination with the measurement of planetary masses, this will provide an estimate of their average density.
A scientific instrument includes a telescope - an aperture covered with a copper cap. It was built on top of the spacecraft platform before installing solar panels. He was recently sent to France and later delivered to Switzerland, and then to the ESA Technical Center in the Netherlands for further tests. After which it will be returned to Spain and the European spaceport to Kourou (French Guiana). Cheops is a partnership of ESA and Switzerland. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2018. Now the mission team carefully analyzes every detail, transporting the spacecraft from country to country.
