Outer space in the lab

You are here: Homepage > Search

Outer space in the lab

Dibowski, Gerd

When the large vacuum chamber is moved out of the cellar of the solar furnace building and into the testing area, a very special experiment is about to take place. What is under investigation is not related to renewable energy, but rather has to do with space applications. Components for spaceflight have been tested at the DLR Solar Furnace in Cologne for a decade and, since 2007, in the high-flux solar simulator as well. Why? Since the components to be investigated will be subjected to space conditions in future, it makes more sense to use the Sun as the source of energy, instead of fossil fuels or lamp arrays. In tests of individual components such as solar cells, insulation layers or protective covers, this mostly involves the ability to resist the severe, prolonged thermal loads and exposure to ultraviolet radiation that occur in space. The DLR researchers' customers are European spacecraft manufacturers, such as EADS Astrium in Toulouse, Thales Alenia Space and the European Space Agency, ESA.