Teledyne Enters New Phase of Planetary Search Contract

A subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. has won the second phase of a $47 million contract from the European Space Agency to provide sensors used aboard a spacecraft that will search for Earth-like planets in the solar system. Teledyne e2V already completed the first phase of the contract by building components, and now will make the visible light image sensors used aboard the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, or PLATO, mission spacecraft at its facility in Chelmsford in the United Kingdom. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2026. The sensors can detect minute changes in the apparent brightness of stars, orbited by planets. “Our reliable and high-performance technology remains at the very forefront of space imaging and the team are very proud to be providing (the space agency) with a technology which enables this exciting PLATO mission to search for new planets,” said Giuseppe Borghi, vice president of business development at Teledyne e2v Teledyne Technologies, in Thousand Oaks, acquired Teledyne e2v, a manufacturer of image sensors, radio frequency subsystems and semiconductors for the space science, health care, defense and aerospace industries, in a deal last year valued at $789 million. Shares in Teledyne (TDY) closed Friday down $2.55, or 1.3 percent, to $198.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.