The SVOM/ECLAIRs test facility – a 3-tonne instrumented chamber – was moved from CNES to IRAP on June 26, 2023. IRAP’s white hall had to be prepared to accommodate this 6-ton chamber.
The ECLAIRs instrument camera test facility (6 m³ instrumented vacuum/thermal chamber) and the camera’s ground model, the EIC-HW (ECLAIRs Instrument Center – Hardware), were moved from CNES to IRAP’s white hall on Monday June 26, 2023. This set of test facilities required the transport of over 5 tonnes of equipment. The IRAP project team, the IRAP PIME unit and CNES had been preparing this very delicate operation for almost a year. Indeed, the chamber was moved under primary vacuum with the ground model of the ECLAIRs camera inside. In the end, all the spectacular operations went off without a hitch. The chamber has now been installed in the white hall at IRAP, and should be operational again shortly.
Following the launch of SVOM, the chamber and the model of the ECLAIRs camera it contains will be used to continue tests on a ground model of the ECLAIRs camera in orbit. This is one of the main tasks of the EIC (ECLAIRs Instrument Center) under the responsibility of IRAP.
Adapted from: https://www.irap.omp.eu/en/2023/07/svom-tank-relocation/
