Precisiebeurs gives Big Science projects a stage, because: Knowledge of precision technology for space searches for applications in other sectors

The Einstein Telescope is perhaps the most well-known Big Science project in the Netherlands among the general public. However, research institutions, universities and companies are also working on other special projects for space. The knowledge gained can in the end often be applied by the Dutch precision industry in other sectors. And one of the projects that will be explained during the Precisiebeurs will also ensure that about 4 to 500 students from MBO to WO will soon enter the space industry with a lot of practical experience.

Together with fourteen Dutch educational institutions and partners such as NLR, Technolution, Airbus and VDL ETG, SRON (Space Research Organisation Netherlands) has started a unique project. Within the NEBULA-Xplorer project, several hundred students will develop and build a complete satellite with an X-ray camera in the coming years. If all goes according to plan, the satellite will be launched late 2029 or early 2030 to conduct research in space so that scientists can better understand how a black hole steals material from an orbiting star.

For weeks after weeks, the NEBULA-Xplorer will look at the same object, something that was nearly impossible in the past with the existing X-ray observatories in space . „The scientific data we collect from this is the icing on the cake,“ says Martin Grim, Manager Electronic Engineering at SRON. During the Precisiebeurs (12 and 13 November in the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch) he will give a lecture about this NEBULA-Xplorer mission.

Space organizations have difficulty finding the right people with the right knowledge and skills. This project helps bridge that gap.”Martin Grim, Manager Electronic Engineering at SRON

From CNC milling to science

What is special about the project is that students from several Dutch educational institutions are developing, building the satellite and even doing the research. „Together with all the project partners, we coach the students, but those students will built the satellite with the X-ray camera,“ says Martin Grim. It does not only concern students from Dutch universities, but also from colleges and MBO courses, such as the Leidse Instrumentmaker School (LIS).

„In the Netherlands, we train very bright students for aerospace engineering, but it is difficult for the educational institutions to teach them all the ins and outs of space for a real mission. The experience they gain in this project will make them more interesting for Dutch space companies after their studies. They then know the specific aspects of working in space. Space organizations have difficulty finding the right people with the right knowledge and skills. By participating in our project, the students build up a head start when for when they start working later.“ Martin Grim is convinced that they will be in demand even outside the space industry.

Polishing technology

In the space industry, the specifications are different from what is usually common in industry, even in the precision industry. The mirrors that will be used in the Einstein Telescope must have a flatness of two nanometers RMS and a micro-surface roughness of better than 0.1 nanometers. Cosine innovations, a Dutch company in the aerospace industry that specializes in optics, is developing an Ion Beam Figuring polishing IBF technology that has so far being used for processing the surfaces of wafers.

What we develop here can also be applied in other industries, for example in the medical industry, semiconductors or nuclear fusion reactors.”Dr. Boris Landgraf, Business Developer at cosine

„The mirror for the Einstein Telescope will be made of silicon, has a diameter of 450 mm and a mass of about 210 kilograms,“ says Dr. Boris Landgraf, Business Developer at cosine. Cosine’s IBF technology uses ions that are accelerated onto the surface to remove very controlled material. The longer the beam is focused on one spot, the more material is taken off. Whether this polishing technology is sufficient for the Einstein Telescope, the cosine employees are still investigating. Boris Landgraf: „The consortium partners TNO and SRON are researching other polishing technologies, Magneto rheological finishing and wet-chemical etching. Maybe we will have to use a combination of the techniques in the future.“

Other applications

The technology used in space travel often goes a step further than what you see in an average precision company.  The students who are building the NEBULA-Xplorer satellite use a special process for the mirrors that is currently only used at NASA. „But at NASA it threatens to disappear due to the funding cutbacks. Then we are the only ones in the world who use this technology,“ says Martin Grim. To do this, students, for example from the LiS, need to mill lightly conical moulds around which a thin aluminium strip is formed in the exact right shape, with micro to nanometer accuracy. The mirrors are then formed in a number of steps. „Students from universities design the mirrors, those from universities of applied sciences the production line together with students of the LiS,“ says Grim. Other students are currently investigating whether these mirrors can also be used in other applications, such as medical research. „Or maybe at ASML?“ 

Mass production for satellite

The 65 employees of cosine in Sassenheim not only do research for the Einstein Telescope, but also work on the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) X-ray mirrors for the NewAthena space telescope. This is a project of ESA (European Space Agency). The mirror is a lightweight construction with a diameter of 2500 mm. Ultimately, up to 160,000 rectangular shaped silicon plates must be produced for this. „We are developing an automated line for this, with robots,“ says Boris Landgraf. He studied semiconductor physics in Göttingen and Hamburg but now works as a Business Developer at cosine. „What we develop here can also be applied in other industries, for example in the medical industry, semicon or nuclear fusion reactors.“

Knowledge for the precision industry

The biggest challenge is the nanometer accuracy. For this you need both the knowledge and the right people.”Dr. Boris Landgraf, Business Developer at cosine

In this way, the knowledge developed in the space projects will eventually end up in the Dutch precision industry, perhaps to be applied in completely different sectors. „The precision industry can benefit from this,“ says Boris Landgraf. Networks such as at the events of Big Science or the Precision Fair fit in with this, that’s where the contacts are made. This also offers opportunities for smaller and medium-sized companies. The biggest challenge is the nanometer accuracy. For this you need both the knowledge and the right people. „Whether you want to position nanometer accurately with a product that is metres long or at the atomic level makes quite a difference. So you have to know exactly which product you are going to develop and for what and what the end goal is.“

Finding funding

For Martin Grim of SRON, the biggest challenge at the moment is not so much the technology, but rather finding sufficient funding for the NEBULA-Xplorer. So far, the funds have mainly come from the Dutch government and from grants for scientific research. He would like to see the business community support the project even more, for example by having students do part of the work in the company. „That’s a fat job interview of six months. Then you know what the students can do.“ 

On the first day of the Precision Fair, SRON is organizing a number of lectures in which Big Science projects in the Netherlands will be explained. This year’s focus is on the space industry, which is in line with the Aerospace & Space focus of the exhibition. Martin Grimm will present the NEBULA Xplorer satellite, Boris Landgraf the work that cosine is doing for the NewAthena space telescope and the Einstein Telescope.

Quelle: Precision Fair