ESA Science & Technology - The CHEOPS Mission Operations Centre

The CHEOPS flight control team will monitor and control the satellite from the Mission Operations Centre (MOC) in Torrejón, Spain.

This image shows members of the team participating in preparation activities prior to the final System Validation Test, SVT-3. After launch, the team will take care of activating CHEOPS, checking and calibrating all satellite subsystems in preparation to the science observations, and handling possible contingency scenarios that may occur. Instructions can only be uplinked to the satellite as it passes over the ground stations, so certain activities need to be performed under time pressure and must be rehearsed thoroughly.