PLATO - PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars - is a Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 M-class mission candidate of
ESA's future Science and Robotic Exploration programme. The scientific goals are to detect exoplanetary transits and to
characterize the parent stars using astero-seismology. This is achieved through high-accuracy, high time-resolution
photometry in the visible waveband. Assessment studies were carried out for all M-class missions during 2008-2009 in
order to design a basic spacecraft configuration and identify critical areas. Following the down-selection in the beginning
of 2010, PLATO will enter into the Definition Phase, in which the spacecraft design will be consolidated and optimized.
The proposed payload will use a multi-aperture approach in which the combined observations of 34 telescopes with
individual pupil sizes of ~120 mm will produce highly accurate light curves of the target stars. Since the orbits of the
exoplanets should preferably be in or close to their habitable zone, an observation period of several years per sky field is
required to detect repeated transits of the exoplanets around the parent stars. This requires a stable spacecraft with a high
pointing accuracy and a benign operating environment. It is foreseen to launch PLATO using a Soyuz 2-1b via a direct
insertion into a large amplitude orbit around Sun-Earth L2. This paper will give an overview of the PLATO mission and
the planned activities during the Definition Phase.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Space telescopes, Device simulation, Optical instrument design, Monte Carlo methods, Failure analysis, Space operations, Instrument modeling, Data modeling, Aerospace engineering
On-orbit servicing can provide significant benefits for scientific space programs through maintenance and upgrades
of scientific spacecraft. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) captured these benefits throughout its life
because it was designed to be serviceable. However, serviceability has often been excluded from other telescope
programs since the cost of serviceability could not be quantitatively justified. This paper develops a framework
to determine the value of including serviceability in a space telescope. The framework incorporates three main
principles: separation of cost and benefits, calculation of value through comparison of servicing to replacement,
and the use of Monte-Carlo simulation and decision rule analysis to account for programmatic uncertainty and
management flexibility. To demonstrate how the framework can be used in practice, a case study was performed
with representative data from HST.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.