BECCAL – cold atoms on the International Space Station

Paper number

IAC-19,A2,6,3,x52698

Author

Mr. Marvin Warner, Germany, ZARM University of Bremen

Year

2019

Abstract

The International Space Station (ISS) offers experiments unlimited time of microgravity, setting up an
opportunity to investigate ultra-cold atoms with unmatched free evolution time. The Bose-Einstein
Condensate - Cold Atom Laboratory (BECCAL) is a high precision quantum optics experiment designed
for operation on the ISS. BECCAL is designed in a bilateral collaboration established between NASA and
DLR. \newline

Classic cold atom laboratories are typically big ground based instruments without any requirements on
the thermal or mechanical interface. However, a proper design of the system and the interfaces is
mandatory in order to install an experiment onboard the orbiting platform and is one big task of the
systems engineering for BECCAL. \newline

The predecessors to BECCAL are the sounding rocket campaigns MAIUS 1-3 (MAteriewellen
Interferometrie Unter Schwerelosigkeit – Matter wave interferometry in microgravity). MAIUS was
developed by a German consortium and produced the first BEC in space. The instrument withstood
harsh environments like the vibrational and acceleration load of the VSB-30 rocket motors. The planned
ISS experiment benefits from the experience of MAIUS and will inherit many components. Even though
BECCALs design strongly resembles MAIUS, a completely new concept of the infrastructure and thermal
control system is necessary to fit the payload into the rack structure aboard the space station.\newline

The designated housing for BECCAL is a quad locker and a single locker inside an EXPRESS (Expedite the
PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station) rack. Consequently, size, weight, power, and heat dissipation
are critical budgets. Considering the available space in comparison to the size of MAIUS, structural
downsizing of the apparatus is decisive. Supplementary, a modular architecture to allow for the exchange
of life time critical objects via orbital replacement units, leads to an eminent growth of complexity for the
interfaces between the subsystems. \newline

This contribution proposes the new solutions to overcome the challenges identified for the design of the
ISS experiment, while giving a detailed view on the current architecture prepared for the preliminary
design review of BECCAL. \newline

Abstract document

IAC-19,A2,6,3,x52698.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-19,A2,6,3,x52698.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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