ESA Science & Technology - LISA Pathfinder flight-model unit in the Magnetic Coil Facility at ESTEC

The picture above shows the LISA Pathfinder Laser Modulator Electronics unit in the Magnetic Coil Facility (MCF) at ESTEC, the Netherlands, in July 2009 during the magnetic moment test programme. The MCF was originally constructed for magnetic testing for the Ulysses mission and has been refurbished for the LISA Pathfinder program.

The LISA Pathfinder mission imposes stringent magnetic cleanliness requirements on the individual units on the spacecraft. As part of the environmental test campaign for the flight-model units magnetic characterisation measurements were made using MCF facilities at ESTEC, at EADS Astrium Stevenage, in the UK, and at EADS Astrium Friedrichshafen, in Germany.