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FINAL DESIGN OF THE MAIUS-2/3 PAYLOAD AN ATOM INTERFEROMETER ON ASOUNDING ROCKET

Michael Elsen, Jens Große, Thijs Wendrich, Wolfgang Bartosch, Maike Diana Lachmann, Dennis Becker, Baptist Piest, Klaus Döringshoff, Ernst Maria Rasel, Claus Braxmaier

Published Jan 1, 2018• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In January 2017 a first sounding rocket mission housing experiments on matter-wave interferometry, MAIUS-1 (Materiewellen-Interferometrie unter Schwerelosigkeit Matter-Wave Interferometry under Microgravity), has been launched. Following this campaign, two sounding rocket missions, MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3, are planned to perform sequential and simultaneous dual-species atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of Potassium-41 and Rubidium-87. The scientific payload of the MAIUS missions will be launched on-board a VSB-30 sounding rocket launched from Esrange in Sweden. The ights of these rockets allows for approximately 360 s of microgravity conditions. It therefore overs a microgravity environment for experiments on timescales not accessible in ground based experiments, such as in the drop tower. During ascent of the rocket, vibrational loads of up to 1.8 g RMS in the frequency range of 20- 2000 Hz and accelerations of up to 13 g can occur. Furthermore, static loads, caused by the re-entry and the landing, can be as high as 50 g. Both missions MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3 y the same payload, called MAIUS-B. Consequently, the payload needs to be designed to withstand the aforementioned loads

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SECAMP - Student Experiments with Cold Atoms on Micro- and Hypergravity Platforms

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The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to 3) have been planned to demonstrate Bose-Einstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B are being designed, qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. Based on this heritage the “Student Experiments with Cold Atoms for Microgravity Platforms” (SECAMP) project has been started at the University of Bremen. The scope of the project is to design and built a payload for student experiments with cold atoms on multiple micro-gravity and hyper-gravity platforms. The apparatus shall allow the generation of a molasses of Rubidium-87 atoms and observation of the cooled atoms through fluorescence imaging in three perpendicular axes. This will enable detecting the movement of the atoms due to (residual) accelerations once the magneto-optical trap is switched off. As such the setup will form a simple accelerometer. The payload shall be designed to be suitable for operation on hyperbolic flights, the drop tower, sounding rockets and centrifuges allowing the participants to apply for the manifold national and European student programs on these platforms. This talk will give an overview on the current design and the requirements imposed by the different platforms. Moreover the student team and their role in the project will be presented and the current status of the project will be highlighted.

•Oct 1, 2018•1 citation
In January 2017 a first sounding rocket mission housing experiments on matter-wave interferometry,
MAIUS-1 (Materiewellen-Interferometrie unter Schwerelosigkeit Matter-Wave Interferometry under
Microgravity), has been launched. Following this campaign, two sounding rocket missions, MAIUS-2
and MAIUS-3, are planned to perform sequential and simultaneous dual-species atom interferometry
with Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of Potassium-41 and Rubidium-87. The scientific payload of the
MAIUS missions will be launched on-board a VSB-30 sounding rocket launched from Esrange in Sweden.
The
ights of these rockets allows for approximately 360 s of microgravity conditions. It therefore overs
a microgravity environment for experiments on timescales not accessible in ground based experiments,
such as in the drop tower.
During ascent of the rocket, vibrational loads of up to 1.8 g RMS in the frequency range of 20-
2000 Hz and accelerations of up to 13 g can occur. Furthermore, static loads, caused by the re-entry
and the landing, can be as high as 50 g. Both missions MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3
y the same payload,
called MAIUS-B. Consequently, the payload needs to be designed to withstand the aforementioned loads
During the two sounding rocket missions MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3, it is planned to perform sequential and simultaneous dualspecies atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of Potassium-41 and Rubidium-87. The scientific payload of the MAIUS missions will be launched on-board a VSB-30 sounding rocket launched from Esrange in Sweden. The flights of these rockets allows for approximately 360 s of microgravity conditions. The microgravity environment offers experiments on timescales that are not possible on ground based experiments. To perform long lifetimes of the BEC, a pressure <= 5·10^(-10) mbar needs to be reached and maintained in the vacuum chamber. During ascent of the rocket, vibrational loads of 1.8 g RMS in the frequency range of 20-2000 Hz and accelerations of up to 13 g are applied to the vacuum system and the payload. During re-entry and landing static loads can reach a level of up to 50 g. The ultra-high vacuum system presented in this talk is designed to withstand these loads while maintaining the vacuum quality. Therefore, the sealing technologies and pumping concepts which are used under this challenging requirements, needed to be tested and qualified. This talk presents the ultra-high vacuum system of the MAIUS-2/3 payload in detail, as well as its vibration and qualification tests at the shaker test facility at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) in Bremen.
The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to 3) have been planned to demonstrate Bose-Einstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B are being designed, qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. The MAIUS-A scientific payload demonstrated the first Bose-Einstein Condensates in Space in the challenging environment aboard a two-staged VSB-30 sounding rocket on the 23rd of January 2017. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific goal the experiment used various sensitive instruments imposing strong requirements on the thermal and mechanical design of the scientific payload. This paper gives a summary of the MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B scientific payload design. Furthermore, the lessons learned from the MAIUS-1 maiden flight as well as the integration and testing activities and their impact on the MAIUS-B scientific payload design are presented. The paper closes with an outlook on future atom interferometry payloads on sounding rockets and beyond.
The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to MAIUS-3) have been planned to demonstrate BoseEinstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B have been designed qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. The MAIUS-A scientific payload is capable of performing single species experiment with rubidium only and was used as a technology demonstrator in the MAIUS-1 mission. The MAIUS-1 mission was conducted in fall 2016. On the 23rd of January 2017 the payload MAIUS-A was launched on a VSB-30 sounding rocket. The payload created the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and performed atom interferometry aboard a sounding rocket with rubidium 87 atoms [Becker 2018]. Its successor MAIUS-B will be able to perform simultaneous experiments with Bose-Einstein Condensates of Rubidium-87 and Potassium-41 atoms. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific goal the experiments use various sensitive instruments imposing strong requirements on the thermal and mechanical design of the scientific payload. This paper gives a summary of the MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B scientific payload design with a focus on the thermal control system. Furthermore, the design of the GSE and the water cooling umbilicals is presented. The paper closes with an outlook on future atom interferometry payloads on sounding rockets and beyond.
Abstract We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of 41^{41}41 41 K and 87^{87}87 87 Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20–2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.
We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of 41^{41}41K and 87^{87}87Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20 - 2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.
The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to 3) have been planned to demonstrate Bose-Einstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B are being designed, qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. Based on this heritage the “Student Experiments with Cold Atoms for Microgravity Platforms” (SECAMP) project has been started at the University of Bremen. The scope of the project is to design and built a payload for student experiments with cold atoms on multiple micro-gravity and hyper-gravity platforms. The apparatus shall allow the generation of a molasses of Rubidium-87 atoms and observation of the cooled atoms through fluorescence imaging in three perpendicular axes. This will enable detecting the movement of the atoms due to (residual) accelerations once the magneto-optical trap is switched off. As such the setup will form a simple accelerometer. The payload shall be designed to be suitable for operation on hyperbolic flights, the drop tower, sounding rockets and centrifuges allowing the participants to apply for the manifold national and European student programs on these platforms. This talk will give an overview on the current design and the requirements imposed by the different platforms. Moreover the student team and their role in the project will be presented and the current status of the project will be highlighted.