Kepler / K2
NASA's Kepler Discovery mission searched for transiting exoplanets in a fixed star field; after two reaction-wheel failures, the repurposed K2 mission used solar pressure for pointing and surveyed successive fields along the ecliptic.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Kepler Space TelescopeKeplerKepler/K2K2K2 Second Light
- Name
- Kepler / K2
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA's Kepler Discovery mission searched for transiting exoplanets in a fixed star field; after two reaction-wheel failures, the repurposed K2 mission used solar pressure for pointing and surveyed successive fields along the ecliptic.
- Destination
- Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit with an approximately 372.5-day period (about 0.97 × 1.041 AU; 0.5° inclination) for continuous exoplanet-transit observations and K2 surveys along the ecliptic
- End Date
- 2018-10-30
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Success. Kepler and K2 observed more than 500,000 stars, enabled discovery of more than 2,600 confirmed exoplanets, and demonstrated that planets outnumber stars in the Milky Way. K2 extended science for four years after the original pointing system was lost; NASA retired the spacecraft on October 30, 2018 after attitude-control fuel was exhausted.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2009-03-07
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/kepler/
- Wikipedia Url
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_space_telescope
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- April 26, 2026 at 14:16:51 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 22, 2026 at 13:57:36 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles