Expertise

CSL is a Research Center dependent on the University of Liège.

Our activities inherit more than 50 years of experience focused on scientific space instrumentation.

The common thread of these activities is the optical heart of space missions. From design to qualification testing, CSL is involved in each phase of engineering.

Assembly, integration and verification of space instrumentation are operated on clean rooms fully compatible with the requirements of ESA programs. A majority of scientific optical instruments was tested in our facilities.

CSL provides a customized service to expose instruments, systems and satellites to extreme conditions encountered in space with a unique expertise in optics and thermal regulation, including cryogenics.

The huge size of vacuum chambers (up to 6.5 m diameter) enables the qualification of full satellites. In the recent past, Herschel, Plank, Gaïa and Aeolus were successfully tested.

The expertise is maintained thanks to the research and development activities shared with our university and with numerous partners (academics and industrials) at regional and international levels.

A detail scope of expertise is found in the specific section about the   CSL labs.