NASA chose SpaceX over Starbase, Texas, to provide Pandora agency mission launch services, within which no less will be studied 20 known exoplanets and their stars.
The selection is part of NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract (VADR) for launch services. This agency contract allows for fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts over a five-year ordering period, with the maximum total cost 300 million dollars on all contracts.
As part of its primary mission, Pandora will observe each exoplanet for one year 10 times, by 24 hours for each visit. Of particular interest are the data when the planet appears in front of the star.
The satellite will use an innovative 17-inch (45 cm) telescope, completely made of aluminum, for measuring both the visible and the near-infrared part of the spectrum. This will allow scientists to separate the signals of stars and planets, which will improve understanding of data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the future mission to search for habitable worlds.
Pandora is a collaboration of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, of Maryland and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-launch-service-task-order-for-pandora-mission/