ESA has awarded Teledyne e2v a second phase $47 million contract to provide custom sensors for the planet hunting Plato mission. Photo Credit: ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded Teledyne e2v, a division of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, with the second phase of a €42 million ($47 million USD) contract to produce high-end Charge Coupled Device (CCD) visible light image sensors for the PLATO (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) mission. PLATO is a planet hunting spacecraft that will seek out and research Earth-like exoplanets around Sun like stars. About 100 Teledyne e2v large area CCDs will allow the mission to detect minute changes in the apparent brightness of stars, orbited by planets.

Teledyne e2v completed the first manufacturing phase of the contract, including the production of high-end CCD wafers and the procurement and production of other key items. After a successful review of the first phase, Teledyne e2v has been authorized to start work on phase two of this contract. This includes manufacturing the wafers and the assembly, test and delivery of 114 CCDs. Together, they will form the biggest optical array ever to be launched into space, currently planned for 2026.