New Berlin cleanroom facility boosts readiness for Europe’s NewAthena space observatory

In a major step toward building the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope, cosine and PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) have completed a specialized cleanroom facility at the Adlershof business park in Berlin, Germany. This new infrastructure will house two new advanced X-ray beamlines required to assemble and test Silicon Pore Optics mirror modules, the “eyes” of ESA’s NewAthena mission.

 

Building NewAthena, the most ambitious X-ray observatory ever conceived, requires more than just brilliant science and cutting edge technology. It requires deep expertise, precision infrastructure, and strong long term collaboration across institutions. To meet this challenge, cosine, in close partnership with Germany’s national metrology institute (PTB), has significantly expanded its footprint at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation facility.

Before the dedicated X-ray equipment can be installed, a sophisticated ISO Class 6 cleanroom has now been constructed within the PTB laboratory at BESSY II, located at the Adlershof business park, one of the most successful high-tech hubs in Germany. This 65 m2 controlled environment provides the ultra-pure conditions necessary to handle sensitive mirrors without even a speck of dust interfering with the optics. Within this newly minted space, two additional X-ray “Parallel Beam” facilities, XPBF 3 and XPBF 4, will be installed. These systems will use narrow beams of X-rays to align and measure X-ray mirror modules with high accuracy.

Scaling up for 2027

The timing of this expansion goes along with the European Space Agency (ESA) signaling that NewAthena is on track for official mission adoption in 2027. The project will then transition from a research phase into high-volume production.

This scale-up will involve increased capacity for mass production as cosine prepares to manufacture more than 600 individual mirror modules. Furthermore, this vital infrastructure development is supported by ESA funding, ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of space technology.

 

 

 

About SPO and NewAthena

Silicon Pore Optics Mirror Modules are the modular X-ray mirrors that together form the telescope optics of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) NewAthena telescope, which is planned for a 2037 launch, after ESA mission adoption in 2027.

NewAthena (Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics) is a major ESA X-ray observatory. It will be the largest X-ray observatory ever built and will investigate some of the hottest and most energetic phenomena in the Universe with unprecedented accuracy and depth, to answer fundamental questions about how the Universe’s large-scale structures formed and work.

About cosine

cosine is a leading worldwide company in the development of space instrumentation, such as Silicon Pore Optics for astronomy and remote sensing solutions with onboard analytics for Earth Observation and planetary science. cosine combines physics and technology to bring out-of-the-box solutions to its clients. cosine has been developing and delivering innovative measurement systems for space and industrial applications since 1998. The company operates more than 1,000 m2 of cleanrooms and high-tech assembly facilities to build and test the systems we produce for customers at our headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands and at subsidiaries in Berlin, Germany and Benevento, Italy.

 

 

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