Environmental Testing and Test
Facilities
European Test Services (ETS) is maintaining and providing test facility
services to European industry by managing and operating the environmental test centre of the European Space Agency (ESA) located in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
ETS is active in mechanical testing, EMC testing, thermal vacuum testing, altitude simulation and more. In addition to the test services, ETS also provides test-related engineering and consultancy services.
Besides testing for space applications the facilities offered by ETS are very well suited for testing aircraft-, rail- and marine applications as well as seismic verification of all kinds of equipment.
Highlights
The Herschel Telescope has been tested in the test centre. Currently the telescope is being inspected after which it will be integrated to the Herschel spacecraft.
The telescope has the largest ever built mirror for a spacecraft, which is 3.5m in diameter tall and made out of the ceramic Silicon Carbide.
When the integration of the Herschel spacecraft is completed, the spacecraft will undergo its environmental test campaign in the ESTEC Test Centre.
