PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations) mission is a space-based optical multi-camera photometer mission of the European Space Agency to identify and characterize exoplanets and their hosting stars using two main techniques: planetary transit and asteroseismology.
The PLATO spacecraft is composed of a Service Module and a Payload Module. The Service Module comprises all the conventional spacecraft subsystems and the sun shield with attached solar arrays. The Payload Module consists of a highly stable optical bench, equipped with 26 optical imagers/cameras covering a global field of view of > 2232 deg2. The design includes two types of cameras: 24 Normal Cameras (N-CAMs) with measurement cadences of 25s and 2 Fast Cameras (F-CAMs) with a cadence of 2.5s. The PLATO spacecraft data is complemented by ground based observations and processed by a dedicate Science Ground Segment.
We describe the mission and spacecraft architecture and provide a view of the current status of development.
KEYWORDS: Contamination, Manufacturing, Cameras, Space operations, Picture Archiving and Communication System, Optics manufacturing, Materials processing, Telescopes, Inspection, Contamination control
The TOU is the Telescope Optical Unit for the PLATO ESA mission, consisting of the opto-mechanical unit for each of the 26 Cameras of which PLATO is composed. The TOU is currently in the manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing (MAIT) phase for the Proto Flight Model (PFM) and for Flight Models (FMs). We present the design processes as seen from the Product Assurance (PA) point of view: PA aims at monitoring the design and addresses specific issues related to, among others, materials and processes (these shall be suitable for the purpose and for the life-time of the mission), cleanliness and contamination control (to limit the loss of optical performance), safety, monitoring of qualifications/validations. PA supports the project in failure-proofing aspects to mitigate criticalities, e.g. in the elaboration of non-conformances and deviations that can arise during the design and MAIT process, and/or are highlighted during the reviews for manufacturing, test, and delivery of the related hardware. PA ensures early detection of potential problems and risks for the TOU and arranges for corrective actions that aim at improving the likelihood of success of the mission.
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