TESS TESS launched April 18, 2018 at 6:51 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Regular science operations with TESS began on July 25, 2018. TESS is now within its extended mission and observing one sector at a time. TESS will continue to tile the sky with 27.4 day-long sectors during its now extended mission.
Sector dates
The start and end dates for each sector, and the list of GI targets (csv file) observed in each sector, are below. The MAST provide an up to date summary of TESS data available at the archive. Information on how to download the data can be found here. The spacecraft pointing positions are available from MIT.
The data from each sector are required to be available at the MAST no later than 2 months after the observations for a given sector are completed. However, the data are routinely downloaded, processed through the pipeline, and released at MAST on shorter timescales than this. The data for each sector is typically available within 1 month of the end date for a given sector. Users are encouraged to check the MAST status page to check on the data availability for particular sectors.
Sector dates
| Sector | Hemisphere | Start | Stop | GI target list | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TESS GI Cycle 4 | |||||
| s055 | North | 2022 Aug 05 | 2022 Sep 01 | ||
| s054 | North | 2022 Jul 09 | 2022 Aug 05 | ||
| s053 | North | 2022 Jun 13 | 2022 Jul 09 | ||
| s052 | North | 2022 May 18 | 2022 Jun 13 | ||
| s051 | North | 2022 Apr 22 | 2022 May 18 | ||
| s050 | North | 2022 Mar 26 | 2022 Apr 22 | ||
| s049 | North | 2022 Feb 26 | 2022 Mar 26 | ||
| s048 | North | 2022 Jan 28 | 2022 Feb 26 | ||
| s047 | North | 2021 Dec 30 | 2022 Jan 28 | ||
| s046 | North | 2021 Dec 02 | 2022 Dec 30 | ||
| s045 | North | 2021 Nov 06 | 2021 Dec 02 | ||
| s044 | North | 2021 Oct 12 | 2021 Nov 06 | ||
| s043 | North | 2021 Sep 16 | 2021 Oct 12 | ||
| s042 | North | 2021 Aug 20 | 2021 Sep 16 | ||
| s041 | North | 2021 Jul 23 | 2021 Aug 20 | ||
| s040 | North | 2021 Jun 24 | 2021 Jul 23 | ||
| TESS GI Cycle 3 | |||||
| s039 | South | 2021 May 26 | 2021 Jun 24 | ||
| s038 | South | 2021 Apr 28 | 2021 May 26 | ||
| s037 | South | 2021 Apr 02 | 2021 Apr 28 | ||
| s036 | South | 2021 Mar 07 | 2021 Apr 02 | ||
| s035 | South | 2021 Feb 09 | 2021 Mar 06 | ||
| s034 | South | 2021 Jan 14 | 2021 Feb 08 | Download | |
| s033 | South | 2020 Dec 18 | 2021 Jan 13 | Download | |
| s032 | South | 2020 Nov 19 | 2020 Dec 16 | Download | |
| s031 | South | 2020 Oct 22 | 2020 Nov 18 | Download | |
| s030 | South | 2020 Sep 23 | 2020 Oct 20 | Download | |
| s029 | South | 2020 Aug 26 | 2020 Sep 21 | Download | |
| s028 | South | 2020 Jul 31 | 2020 Aug 25 | Download | |
| s027 | South | 2020 Jul 05 | 2020 Jul 30 | Download | First TESS extended mission field, Cycle 3 begins |
| TESS GI Cycle 2 | |||||
| s026 | North | 2020 Jun 09 | 2020 Jul 04 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. |
| s025 | North | 2020 May 14 | 2020 Jun 08 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. |
| s024 | North | 2020 Apr 16 | 2020 May 12 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. |
| s023 | North | 2020 Mar 19 | 2020 Apr 15 | Download | |
| s022 | North | 2020 Feb 19 | 2020 Mar 17 | Download | |
| s021 | North | 2020 Jan 21 | 2020 Feb 18 | Download | |
| s020 | North | 2019 Dec 24 | 2020 Jan 20 | Download | |
| s019 | North | 2019 Nov 28 | 2019 Dec 23 | Download | |
| s018 | North | 2019 Nov 03 | 2019 Nov 27 | Download | |
| s017 | North | 2019 Oct 08 | 2019 Nov 02 | Download | |
| s016 | North | 2019 Sep 12 | 2019 Oct 06 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole by 31 degrees (see the technical details page for more information). |
| s015 | North | 2019 Aug 15 | 2019 Sep 10 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole by 31 degrees (see the technical details page for more information). |
| s014 | North | 2019 Jul 18 | 2019 Aug 14 | Download | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole by 31 degrees (see the technical details page for more information). |
| TESS GI Cycle 1 | |||||
| s013 | South | 2019 Jun 19 | 2019 Jul 17 | Download | |
| s012 | South | 2019 May 21 | 2019 Jun 18 | Download | |
| s011 | South | 2019 Apr 23 | 2019 May 20 | Download | |
| s010 | South | 2019 Mar 26 | 2019 Apr 22 | Download | |
| s009 | South | 2019 Feb 28 | 2019 Mar 25 | Download | |
| s008 | South | 2019 Feb 02 | 2019 Feb 27 | Download | |
| s007 | South | 2019 Jan 08 | 2019 Feb 01 | Download | |
| s006 | South | 2018 Dec 12 | 2019 Jan 06 | Download | |
| s005 | South | 2018 Nov 15 | 2018 Dec 11 | Download | |
| s004 | South | 2018 Oct 19 | 2018 Nov 14 | Download | |
| s003 | South | 2018 Sep 21 | 2018 Oct 17 | Download | |
| s002 | South | 2018 Aug 23 | 2018 Sep 20 | Download | |
| s001 | South | 2018 Jul 25 | 2018 Aug 22 | Download | |
Distribution of targets
Illustrations showing all targets (in red) observed at 2-minute cadence for each camera and sector.
Sector 27
Sector 25
Sector 26
Sector 23
Sector 24
Sector 21
Sector 22
Sector 19
Sector 20
Sector 17
Sector 18
Sector 15
Sector 16
Sector 13
Sector 14
Sector 11
Sector 12
Sector 9
Sector 10
Sector 7
Sector 8
Sector 5
Sector 6
Sector 3
Sector 4
Sector 1
Sector 2