![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2017\/08\/large_space_simulator\/17113685-1-eng-GB\/Large_Space_Simulator_small.jpg\")
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\nAn external view of Europe\u2019s largest vacuum chamber, the Large Space Simulator, which subjects entire satellites to space-like conditions ahead of launch. This 15 m-high and 10 m-diameter chamber<\/a> is cavernous enough to accommodate an upended double decker bus.\n<\/p>\n \nSatellites are lowered down through a top hatch<\/a>. Once the top and side hatches are sealed, high-performance pumps create a vacuum a billion times lower than standard sea level atmosphere, held for weeks at a time during test runs.\n<\/p>\n \nA 121-segment mirror array<\/a> reflects simulated sunlight<\/a> into the chamber, at the same time as the internal walls are pumped full of \u2013190\u00b0C liquid nitrogen, together recreating the extreme thermal conditions prevailing in orbit.\n<\/p>\n \nEmbedded sensors and measurement devices check whether a mission\u2019s thermal engineers have done their job well, and if the test satellite maintains an acceptable internal temperature range without buckling or other unwanted temperature-driven effects.\n<\/p>\n \nThe simulator is an essential part of ESA\u2019s Test Centre in the Netherlands<\/a>, the largest facility of its kind in Europe, providing a complete suite of equipment for all aspects of satellite testing under a single roof.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nAn external view of Europe’s largest vacuum chamber, the Large Space Simulator, which subjects entire satellites to space-like conditions ahead of launch. This 15 m-high and 10 m-diameter chamber<\/a> is cavernous enough to accommodate an upended double decker bus.\n<\/p>\n \nSatellites are lowered down through a top hatch<\/a>. Once the top and side hatches are sealed, high-performance pumps create a vacuum a billion times lower than standard sea level atmosphere, held for weeks at a time during test runs.\n<\/p>\n \nA 121-segment mirror array<\/a> reflects simulated sunlight<\/a> into the chamber, at the same time as the internal walls are pumped full of –190°C liquid nitrogen, together recreating the extreme thermal conditions prevailing in orbit.\n<\/p>\n \nEmbedded sensors and measurement devices check whether a mission’s thermal engineers have done their job well, and if the test satellite maintains an acceptable internal temperature range without buckling or other unwanted temperature-driven effects.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n