25/04/2025
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The state-of-the-art timekeeping facility in space, a nuclear clock dress in space (ACES) is successfully established at the International Space Station, marking the onset of a new chapter in space-based accurate science.
On 21 April 2025, a SpaceX leaves the aces riding on Falcon 9
On 21 April 2025, Esk, riding a spacex on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, as part of the 32nd Spacex Commercial Rape Services Mission for the International Space Station. On 25 April, the Canadian robotic arm of the station installed a payload towards the Earth-Emphasis of the ESA’s Columbus Laboratory, where it is ready to operate for 30 months.
Developed by ESA in collaboration with the European industry led by Airbus, ACES has launched the most accurate atomic timepiece in space so far: Farao, a Casium-based fountain watch developed by French Space Agency CNES, and Safran Timing Technologies in Switzerland. These watches will work with a state -of -the -art microwave and laser link system to give time from orbit with unprecedented accuracy and allow the aces to install the “network of watches”, to find out the nature of the most accurate watches on Earth and detect the nature of time, help to make a re -recitation for the test general relativity.
Aces at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center before launch
Now with the completion of the installation, the next stage is the first switch-on of the system, which is scheduled for April 28. This will install communication with initial activation ground control, enable telemetry – data transmitted from ACE to Earth – and telecomnds – instructions sent to engineers on the ground – while stabilizing the thermal system in preparation for the clock operation.
Aces in Airbus in Fredericashfen, where the facility was assembled
The six -month commissioning phase will be followed, during which the engineers and scientific equipment will calibrate, the time transfer links will test and mark the performance of ACES watches. Aces will connect with watches at selected ground stations several times a day as it revolves around the Earth at the International Space Station. When many watches for the station are in the same area, such as two located in Europe, one can get accuracy of one part in aces 10.-17Or within a few days, about 10 quintals of a second. This is between one and two orders of better magnitude than today’s system using navigation satellites such as GPS. Comparison between distant watches in continents will take about a week anytime, anytime compared to this accuracy.
A rendering of aces outside the ESA’s Columbus Laboratory at International Space Station
By the end of commissioning, the best operating parameters for Pharao will be defined. ACES will then start its two -year science phase, with ten planned sessions of taking 25 days of data. After verification by the ACES science team, the results will be shared with the global scientific community, opening new frontiers and time science in fundamental physics.
“I am very excited and proud that our incredibly complex and extremely important project is now in space after many years of hard work. It is a major achievement for the ESA and science community, and I am eager to see the results of the hard work done by Airbus, Timatch, Causes, Safran Time Technologies and ESA, I am eager to see the results in the entire Europe.” Simon Venberg, ACES Project Scientist, ESA.
See our social media thread for installation images from NASA Livestream; High resolution images will be available at a later date.
