ESA’s Euclid satellite will study the dark universe over the past ten billion light years. This challenging Space mission will survey galaxies at various distances from Earth in order to learn us more about the origin of dark matter. It will also help us to understand why the Universe is gradually expanding and what is the nature of the so-called “dark energy” which is responsible for this accelerating expansion.

The structural and thermal model of the Euclid satellite – i.e. not the real flight model – has recently passed its thermal qualification tests, which have confirmed that the spacecraft has the required stability to fulfill its mission. Next step: the mechanical vibration tests to determine whether the thermal and mechanical properties of the hardware correspond to the predictions. Integration and testing of the definite flight model will take place in 2021.

SPACEBEL is also involved in this ambitious Space mission with the design, development, coding, integration, test, verification, and qualification of the Euclid Control and Data Management Unit Application Software aimed at processing the gigantic volumes of satellite images and data. We also cover the associated Ground Support Equipment and services.