XMM-Newton operations beyond the 10-year design lifetime

In preparation for XMM-Newton operations beyond the 10-year design lifetime ESA instigated an independent review of all aspects of the mission. Unsurprisingly, the review found that the scientific interest in extending the mission is very high and likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. Most importantly, all the elements of the XMM-Newton mission were found to be stable and trouble free with sufficient consumables and life-limited items to allow operations of the mission until at least 2018. The review endorsed the proposal to combine elements of the Flight Control Team with those from INTEGRAL and remove real-time instrument monitoring from ESAC in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency.