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\t\t\t\t\t\t06\/10\/2025<\/span> The Large Space Simulator, Europe\u2019s largest vacuum chamber, routinely reproduces space conditions on Earth to test spacecraft before they fly into orbit. The facility is complex, and the current process of training a new operator is lengthy and complicated. To make it easier, the space simulator now has a digital twin \u2013 the most realistic virtual model of the facility yet, developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) by the Spanish engineering company Empresarios Agrupados.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Large Space Simulator (LSS), located at ESA\u2019s Test Centre in the Netherlands, is a large chamber capable of reproducing a space-like environment. Its pumps can extract all air from the inside to create high vacuum, and liquid nitrogen circulating through thermal panels covering its walls can lower the temperature to chilly -180 \u00b0C.<\/p>\n \u201cThe facility is very complex, and it takes many years for people to learn how to operate it,\u201d explains Remko Moeys, ESA\u2019s engineer leading the digital twin project. \u201cOn top of that, we perform only about 2-3 tests per year, which offers very few occasions for a trainee to shadow and learn from an experienced operator.<\/p>\n \u201cTo make the process more efficient, we developed a training simulator. This \u2018digital twin\u2019 mimics the real operations of the LSS as closely as possible. Essentially, it works in a similar way to a flight simulator for pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The LSS digital twin software was developed for ESA by the Spanish engineering company Empresarios Agrupados using the simulation software \u2018EcosimPro\u2019, which the company have devised for ESA with the aim to support the aerospace industry modelling and simulation needs in several disciplines. \u00a0<\/p>\n After almost two years of development, the training software is up and running on the monitors of the real-life LSS control room, making the experience of an operator-in-training as realistic as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the digital twin software, a trainee sees the same things on the screen that they would see when operating the real facility, and the data is displayed in the same way as well. Everything underneath has been virtualised,\u201d Remko clarifies.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s say I click a button in the programme to open a valve. In a real-life scenario, the computer would send a signal to the real valve and open it. In a simulated scenario, a \u2018virtual valve\u2019 opens instead. The computer calculates what would happen once it\u2019s opened, returning the simulated data to us.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cA great advantage of our training software is that a test can be started from any point, it can be paused or stopped, and it can run faster than real-time, allowing us to skip uneventful phases that normally last hours.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can even introduce a failure into the test, like a valve not opening or air leaking into the vacuum chamber. This allows trainees to practice handling all kinds of potential scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n Julien Pioton, LSS operator and test engineer at the European Test Services (ETS), notes: \u201cTraining operators on a real-life facility is a long and complex process, often requiring years of hands-on experience. Moreover, operating such facilities isn\u2019t without risk. This tool offers a safe and efficient alternative by allowing LSS operators to repeatedly practice specific test phases, build confidence, and refine their skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The digital twin software will help more than just operator training. It is a powerful tool for the virtual testing of any changes to the facility before they are performed in real life, it can be used to carry out various studies such as optimising the facility\u2019s consumption of nitrogen, rehearsing test operations in advance, or simulating abnormal operations in case of equipment failure.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Miguel Alc\u00e1zar, Simulation Manager at Empresarios Agrupados, concludes: \u201cI\u2019m immensely proud of our team’s ability to bring this challenging project to completion in such a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis wouldn\u2019t be possible without the EcosimPro tools developed by Empresarios Agrupados over the past 25 years \u2013 they have become invaluable, not only for companies in space and aeronautics, but also for energy, water, and biomedicine sectors,\u201d he adds. \u201cI look forward to continuing our support to ESA\u2019s future technological developments.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n About the Large Space Simulator<\/b><\/p>\n The Large Space Simulator (LSS), located at ESA\u2019s Test Centre in the Netherlands, is Europe\u2019s largest vacuum chamber. It is used for the testing of spacecraft in a space-like environment, including vacuum and extreme temperatures, before they fly into orbit.<\/p>\n A spacecraft under test is installed on a large robotic arm in the centre of the chamber and can be rotated with respect to a blinding beam of light produced by a set of 19 lamps, each the size of a grapefruit. This setup mimics how, when in space, the Sun-facing side of a spacecraft will heat up, while the shaded side will remain freezing cold<\/p>\n Exactly 50 years ago, the predecessor of the LSS \u2013 the Dynamic Test Chamber \u2013 was completed. Since then, the facility has evolved into the 15 m-high and 10 m-wide chamber we know today.<\/p>\n Over the past half-century, engineers have subjected countless spacecraft to the harsh conditions of space in the LSS, including the most recent EarthCARE, Smile, or the test version of Plato.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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