The European Space Agency (ESA) is funding £10 million for new facilities at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC), the research institute in Edinburgh.

ESA funds new lab spaces at Edinburgh's UK Astronomy Technology Centre

Specifically, new lab spaces will be built to assemble optical benches. These are for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, investigating gravitational waves in space. The investment will approximately double UK ATC’s construction capabilities.

Optical benches
The optical benches send and receive laser beams over a 2.5 million kilometre distance. This is between the three satellites in the LISA mission.

The beams enable measurement of distance changes between them with an accuracy of a few picometres. That is, trillionths of a metre.

And work has already begun on the benches, with the assembly process using Robotically Assisted Bonding (RAB), pictured. This has been developed by UK ATC and the University of Glasgow, with funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA).

Note that constructing the 10 required benches will take approximately 8 years. This includes building prototypes and spares.

“This £10 million investment by the European Space Agency is a testament to the ability of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre to carry out cutting-edge work of the highest standards,” said Professor Christophe Dumas, Director at UK ATC.

“These new facilities will enable our team to deliver LISA’s optical benches on time for a mission launch around 2035, enabling gigantic steps forward in the field of gravitational research.”

LISA mission
As mentioned, the LISA mission will study gravitational waves. It will also be tracing the merger history of black holes and probing the rate of expansion of the universe.

The ESA’s flagship project will involve the first ever gravitational wave observatory in space. And the optical benches are a crucial component of the mission, the ATC highlights.

“LISA, an ESA-led mission with contributions from ESA Member States and NASA, will be the first space observatory for gravitational waves, revolutionising astrophysics and space exploration,” said Filippo Marliani, ESA’s LISA Project Manager.

“The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, contribute to this unique mission with ultra-precision optical benches that sit at the heart of the three LISA spacecraft. A new integration facility will boost production, ensuring timely completion of the spacecraft. I very much look forward to working with the UK team.”

All three satellites in LISA will launch on the same rocket. They will then begin an 18-month voyage to their destination, 60-70 million kilometres from Earth. The craft will then diverge until they form an equilateral triangle 2.5 million kilometres from each other.

Optical electronics
We also reported, at the end of last year, that Teledyne Space Imaging will be working with Thales Alenia Space on some of optical electronics in LISA – the Constellation Acquisition Sensor (CAS) instrument.

Teledyne will be delivering CIS220 detectors and the control electronics. Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the optical head of the satellite payloads.

“With major contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope and this new investment in LISA, Scotland is at the heart of two of humanity’s most important and innovative space science missions,” said Paul Bate, CEO of UKSA.

“The scale of the engineering challenge associated with LISA is staggering – it is a flagship mission for Europe and it will be made possible by expertise in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is a great example of how our leading role in ESA is delivering jobs and discovery for UK science.”

Geo-return funding
A note on the funding. The £10 million investment was made possible via the UK Government’s investments in ESA, the ATC highlights.

The ESA operates a “geo-return” policy, which aims for ESA members to receive economic benefits – via contracts with companies in the respective states – which are proportional to their financial contributions to the ESA…

“The goal is to sustainably reward ongoing financial support, secure political backing for ESA programmes and foster capacity and expertise across Europe to accelerate the innovation process in space,” states the ESA.

According to the ESA’s Director General, Josef Aschbacher, the agency is aiming to review its geo-return policy in 2025.