The European Space Agency’s Cheops satellite will be delivered to orbit by Russia’s Soyuz rocket, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. This reported by TASS.

"Soyuz rocket operated by Arianespace from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou will boost ESA’s upcoming exoplanet satellite into space," the statement reads.

The exact launch date is yet to be confirmed, the agency said adding that "the Cheops satellite is expected to be ready by the end of 2018 for shipping to Kourou, with all testing completed."

Apart from the Cheops satellite, the Soyuz rocket will also take another payload to orbit. The two will separate "into their own orbits soon after ascent."

Cheops - the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite - "will operate in a 700 km altitude orbit around Earth angled about 98· to the equator," the European Space Agency said.

According to the agency, "through high-precision monitoring of a star’s brightness, scientists will examine the transit of a planet as it passes briefly across the star’s face. This allows the radius of the planet to be accurately measured. For those planets of known mass, the density will be revealed, providing an indication of the structure."

"Cheops is an ESA mission in partnership with Switzerland and with important contributions from 10 other member states," the statement reads.