Snowy launch pad in Baikonur

COROT, the upcoming mission to detect exoplanets and probe the interior of stars, now has 27 December as a tentative launch date for its launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch was previously planned for 21 December.

After launch, COROT will be set onto a polar circular orbit around Earth. This orbit will allow for continuous observation of two large regions in opposite directions of the sky for more than 150 days each. Within each region there are many selected star fields that will be monitored in turn. The first target field is towards Orion, then the spacecraft will turn towards the centre of our Galaxy, the Milky Way.

For more information

Malcolm Fridlund, ESA COROT Project Scientist
Email: malcolm.fridlund @ esa.int