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 executing its survey, observing one sector at a time. TESS will continue to tile the sky with 27.4 day-long sectors during its 2 year prime mission, and continuing into 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. A summary of TESS data available at the MAST can be found here and information on how to download the data can be found here.
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 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 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 07 | ||
| s034 | South | 2021 Jan 13 | 2021 Feb 09 | ||
| s033 | South | 2020 Dec 17 | 2021 Jan 13 | ||
| s032 | South | 2020 Nov 19 | 2020 Dec 17 | ||
| s031 | South | 2020 Oct 21 | 2020 Nov 19 | ||
| s030 | South | 2020 Sep 22 | 2020 Oct 21 | ||
| s029 | South | 2020 Aug 26 | 2020 Sep 22 | ||
| s028 | South | 2020 Jul 30 | 2020 Aug 26 | ||
| s027 | South | 2020 Jul 04 | 2020 Jul 30 | First TESS extended mission field, Cycle 3 begins | |
| TESS GI Cycle 2 | |||||
| s026 | North | 2020 Jun 08 | 2020 Jul 04 | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. | |
| s025 | North | 2020 May 13 | 2020 Jun 08 | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. | |
| s024 | North | 2020 Apr 15 | 2020 May 13 | Pointing shifted toward the North ecliptic pole. | |
| s023 | North | 2020 Mar 18 | 2020 Apr 15 | ||
| s022 | North | 2020 Feb 18 | 2020 Mar 18 | ||
| s021 | North | 2020 Jan 21 | 2020 Feb 18 | ||
| s020 | North | 2019 Dec 24 | 2020 Jan 21 | ||
| s019 | North | 2019 Nov 27 | 2019 Dec 24 | Download | |
| s018 | North | 2019 Nov 02 | 2019 Nov 27 | Download | |
| s017 | North | 2019 Oct 07 | 2019 Nov 02 | Download | |
| s016 | North | 2019 Sep 11 | 2019 Oct 07 | Download | Data available at MAST. 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 11 | Download | Data available at MAST. 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 15 | Download | Data available at MAST. 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 18 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s012 | South | 2019 May 21 | 2019 Jun 19 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s011 | South | 2019 Apr 22 | 2019 May 21 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s010 | South | 2019 Mar 26 | 2019 Apr 22 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s009 | South | 2019 Feb 28 | 2019 Mar 26 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s008 | South | 2019 Feb 02 | 2019 Feb 28 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s007 | South | 2019 Jan 07 | 2019 Feb 02 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s006 | South | 2018 Dec 15 | 2019 Jan 07 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s005 | South | 2018 Nov 15 | 2018 Dec 11 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s004 | South | 2018 Oct 18 | 2018 Nov 15 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s003 | South | 2018 Sep 20 | 2018 Oct 18 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s002 | South | 2018 Aug 22 | 2018 Sep 20 | Download | Data available at MAST |
| s001 | South | 2018 Jul 25 | 2018 Aug 22 | Download | Data available at MAST |
Distribution of targets
Illustrations showing all targets (in red) observed at 2-minute cadence for each camera and sector.
Sector 15
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