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Today at 10:15 CEST, ESA\u2019s Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) began its journey to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States.<\/p>\n
ACES carries the most accurate clocks ever flown in space \u2013 PHARAO and the Space Hydrogen Maser \u2013 designed to keep time so precisely that they would lose just one second every 300 million years. Developed by the French space agency CNES and Safran Timing Technologies in Switzerland, these European-built clocks will work with a sophisticated time transfer time using microwave and laser links to synchronise the best clocks all over Earth.<\/p>\n
Later this week, the Station\u2019s Canadian robotic arm will install ACES on the exterior of ESA\u2019s Columbus module. From its vantage point 400 km above Earth, ACES will link its ultra-precise clocks with the best timekeepers on the ground, enabling groundbreaking tests of fundamental physics, including Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity. Over its 30-month mission, it will carry out extended measurement sessions to investigate the very nature of time and enhance global time synchronisation.<\/p>\n
ACES is a fully European mission led by ESA, with Airbus as a prime contractor, and will be operated from control centres in France and Germany (CADMOS and Col-CC).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe launch of ACES marks a major milestone for European science and international cooperation in space. With this mission, we are placing the most precise timepiece ever sent to orbit aboard the International Space Station \u2014 opening new frontiers in fundamental physics, time transfer, and global synchronization. ACES is a shining example of what Europe can achieve when we unite cutting-edge technology, scientific ambition, and strong partnerships\u201d, says Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human & Robotic Exploration at ESA.<\/p>\n
Would you like to find out more? Here\u2019s seven things you probably didn\u2019t know about ACES.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n