The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC, one of ten major NASA field centers, is named in recognition of Dr. Robert H. Goddard (1882–1945), the pioneer of modern rocket propulsion in the United States.

GSFC is the largest combined organization of scientists and engineers in the United States dedicated to increasing knowledge of the Earth, the Solar System, and the Universe via observations from space. GSFC is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. GSFC conducts scientific investigation, development and operation of space systems, and development of related technologies. Goddard scientists can develop and support a mission, and Goddard engineers and technicians can design and build the spacecraft for that mission. Goddard scientist John C. Mather shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on COBE.

GSFC also operates two spaceflight tracking and data acquisition networks (the Space Network and the Near Earth Network), develops and maintains advanced space and Earth science data information systems, and develops satellite systems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

GSFC manages operations for many NASA and international missions including the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Explorer program, the Discovery Program, the Earth Observing System (EOS), INTEGRAL, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and Swift. Past missions managed by GSFC include the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, SMM, COBE, IUE, and ROSAT. Typically, unmanned earth observation missions and observatories in Earth orbit are managed by GSFC, while unmanned planetary missions are managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

The Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre Spatial Guyanais - CSG) is a French spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana.

Operational since 1968, it is particularly suitable as a location for a spaceport due to its proximity to the equator, and that launches are in a favourable direction over water. The European Space Agency (ESA), the French space agency CNES, and the commercial Arianespace company conduct launches from Kourou. This is the spaceport used to by ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station.

The Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) (English: National Centre for Space Studies) is the French space agency.

Established under President Charles de Gaulle in 1961, its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research. It operates out of the Guiana Space Centre, but also has payloads launched from space centres operated by other countries. CNES formerly was responsible for the training of French astronauts, the last active CNES astronauts transferred to the European Space Agency in 2001. 

CNES concentrates on five areas:

• access to space
• civil applications of space
• sustainable development
• science and technology research
• security and defence

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) (German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in national and international partnerships.

In addition to conducting its own research projects, DLR also acts as the German space agency. As such, it is responsible for planning and implementing the German space programme on behalf of the German federal government. As project management agency, DLR also coordinates and answers for the technical and organisational implementation of projects funded by a number of German federal ministries.

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres (656 ha) in Houston, Texas. Johnson Space Center is home to the United States astronaut corps and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It is often popularly referred to by its central function during missions, Mission Control.

The center, originally known as the Manned Spacecraft Center, grew out of the Space Task Group formed soon after the creation of NASA to co-ordinate the US manned spaceflight program. A new facility was constructed on land donated by Rice University and opened in 1963. On February 19, 1973, the center was renamed in honor of the late U.S. president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson. JSC is one of ten major NASA field centers.

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program from three pads at the adjoining Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Its iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the fourth-largest structure in the world by volume and was the largest when completed in 1965.

The European Astronaut Centre(EAC) is a centre of the European Space Agency and home of the European Astronaut Corps. It is located inCologne, Germany, and is sub-divided in to four separate arms, these being Training, Medicine, Education and PR, and Astronaut Management. It provides training facilities to the European astronauts, particularly regarding ESA hardware for the ISS such as Columbus and the ATV. The overall European Astronaut Centre organisation is also in charge of the organisation of the training of European astronauts in the centers of other partners, such as the United States (Johnson Space Center), Russia (Star City), Canada (Saint-Hubert) or Japan (Tsukuba).

The Medical Operations arm (the Crew Medical Support Office) concentrates on providing health related support to the European astronauts and their families. Astronaut management supports and directs the careers and mission placements of the astronauts, and Education and PR are involved in activities related to education and outreach and the appropriate representation of the European astronauts and their space activities to the public.

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, is a space transport company headquartered in Hawthorne, California, USA.

It was founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 space boosters, both of which are built with a goal of becoming reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX has also launched the Dragon spacecraft to be flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. On 25 May 2012, SpaceX made history as the world's first privately held company to send a cargo load, the Dragon spacecraft, to the International Space Station.

SpaceX designs, tests and fabricates the majority of its components in-house, including the Merlin, Kestrel, and Draco rocket engines used on the Falcon launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft. In 2006, NASA awarded the company a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract to design and demonstrate a launch system to resupply cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). On 9 December 2010, the launch of the COTS Demo Flight 1 mission, SpaceX became the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft. On 22 May 2012, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carried the unmanned Dragon capsule into space, marking the first time a private company has sent a spacecraft to the space station. The unmanned, cone-shaped capsule became the first privately built and operated vehicle to ever dock to the orbiting outpost.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) was proposed as an M-class candidate mission for the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme in response to the Call for Proposals issued by ESA in March 2007. The proposal was submitted by Claude Catala (Observatoire de Paris, France) on behalf of a large consortium comprising scientists from across Europe. In October of that year it was selected for further assessment and consideration by ESA.

PLATO timeline

Phase 0 – November 2007 - April 2008

The ESA internal assessment phase, or phase 0, for all candidate missions began in November 2007. The CDF study, part of the phase 0 process, for PLATO ran from December 2007 to January 2008. This led to a design that was suitable for a feasibility assessment and production of an Invitation to Tender to Industry.

Study Assessment Phase – November 2008 – December 2009

In April 2008 the Invitation to Tender was issued to Industry. Following a competitive assessment Astrium (France) and Thales Alenia Space (Italy) were selected to run parallel industrial assessment studies lasting approximately one year. At the same time a consortium of ESA Member State scientists, the PLATO Payload Consortium (PPLC), was formed to carry out an independent study of the payload, under the leadership of Claude Catala. All three studies ran in parallel and were completed at the end of summer 2009. A PLATO Science Consortium (PSC), formed in 2008 under the leadership of Don Pollacco (Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom), worked on the scientific preparation of the mission during this period.

The report of the assessment study, which includes the PLATO science case together with a synthesis of the industrial and instrument consortium studies, was presented to the scientific community in December 2009. In addition, an independent technical review of the assessment study was conducted by ESA. The recommendations of the review board were presented to the scientific community also in December 2009.

Definition Phase – June 2010 – mid-2011

In early 2010 the advisory body structure of ESA’s Science and Robotic Exploration Directorate met to consider the outcome of the studies of all M-class missions. Taking account of the scientific priorities of the Cosmic Vision plan and the technical feasibility of the candidate missions (as determined by the studies conducted by ESA and industry) the Science Programme Committee recommended that PLATO, along with Euclid and Solar Orbiter proceed to the next phase: a more detailed definition phase, with a decision point by mid-2011 on the (up to two) missions that will proceed further to implementation. During this time the cost and implementation schedule for the mission must be firmly established.

Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is a NASA space exploration mission being conducted as part of the Explorer program to study matter in situ, comprising energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources. Real-time data from ACE is used by the Space Weather Prediction Center to improve forecasts and warnings of solar storms. The ACE robotic spacecraft was launched August 25, 1997 and is currently operating in a Lissajous orbit close to the L1 Lagrange point (which lies between the Sun and the Earth at a distance of some 1.5 million km from the latter). The spacecraft is still in generally good condition, and has enough fuel to maintain its orbit until 2024. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center managed the development and integration of the ACE spacecraft. 

Instrumentation

• Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS): CRIS determines the isotope composition of galactic cosmic rays. It is designed to be sensitive enough to detect isotopes up to the range of zinc (Z-30).
• ACE Real Time Solar Wind (RTSW).
• Solar Wind Ion Mass Spectrometer (SWIMS) and Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS): These two instruments are time-of-flight mass spectrometers, each tuned for a different set of measurements. They analyze the chemical and isotopic composition of solar wind and interstellar matter.
• Ultra-Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS): ULEIS measures ion flux and is sensitive to a range from helium through nickel to determine the makeup of solar energetic particles and the mechanism by which the particles become charged by the sun.
• Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer (SEPICA): As of 2008, this instrument is no longer functioning due to failed gas valves.
• Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS).
• Solar Wind Electron, Proton and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM).
• Electron, Proton, and Alpha-particle Monitor (EPAM).
• Magnetometer (MAG).