By fitting its sunshield and solar panels, engineers recently completed the construction of Plato, the European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets. 

After mounting the combined sunshield and solar array module, engineers tested whether it could unfold correctly. 

This video features this deployment test, as it took place in a dedicated cleanroom at ESA’s Test Centre.

In space, special mechanisms will automatically release the panels from their folded position. For this test, the array was released manually by an engineer. The opening of the left and right wings was executed separately. Their deployment went as expected.

Once in orbit, the solar array will catch light from the Sun to power the spacecraft electronics. The sunshield will keep the scientific equipment in shadow, protecting it from the Sun’s glare. 

Read more