ESA title
ATOX Testing Contract Signing
Enabling & Support

Contract paves way for atomic oxygen testing facility

03/06/2025 1188 views 10 likes
ESA / Enabling & Support / Space Engineering & Technology / Shaping the Future

Today at ESTEC, the European Space Agency's Director-General, Josef Aschbacher, was present at a contract signing to secure the future of environmental testing for space and enable a key supporting technology of ESA's Technology 2040 vision. 

Spacecraft flying in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) — altitudes closer to Earth than traditional satellites — are becoming increasingly popular and operating at these lower heights offers exciting advantages, such as clearer, higher-resolution images and lower launch costs but also comes with its own set of challenges. The residual atmosphere at these altitudes creates high drag, causing spacecraft to slow down and lose altitude more quickly. Additionally, spacecraft surfaces face erosion from highly reactive particles like Atomic Oxygen (ATOX), which can damage materials and shorten mission lifetimes. 

Under the General Support Technology Programme’s De-Risk Framework, FOTEC Forschungs- und Technologietransfer GmbH, the research subsidiary of the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, is advancing the testing of materials and propulsion technologies by developing a new ground-based test facility to simulate this environment. This facility uses a special plasma source to mimic the intense atomic oxygen environment found in VLEO. Key features of the test setup include compatibility with electric propulsion devices, flexible operation in various vacuum chambers and the ability to produce continuous atomic oxygen flows that closely mimic real orbital conditions.

This De-Risk project, with Austria, will first demonstrate the facility’s ability to recreate VLEO-like atomic oxygen conditions and test its operation alongside advanced electric thrusters, ultimately reducing the technical and financial risks posed by opening a new facility. Once fully developed and validated, this test service will be made available to European space companies. This breakthrough will help accelerate the development of durable materials and propulsion systems, supporting Europe’s ambitions for sustainable satellite operations in Very Low Earth Orbit.