CosmoCube Advances Through UKSA Science Bilateral Programme with Key Tests at RAL Space

As part of the UK Space Agency’s Science Bilateral Programme, the CosmoCube consortium has been progressing mission development through a series of critical technical studies and tests. One highlight of this phase was the successful completion of Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) tests of the candidate platform at STFC RAL Space.

The TVAC campaign placed the spacecraft platform in a simulated space environment, exposing it to the extreme thermal and vacuum conditions expected in lunar orbit. These tests are a crucial milestone, validating the performance and resilience of the hardware before moving forward to more advanced stages of mission design.

This work underscores the value of the Science Bilateral Programme in enabling UK-led missions to collaborate with international partners, while strengthening national expertise in space science and engineering. Together, Cambridge, RAL Space, Portsmouth, and SSTL are building the foundation for CosmoCube’s success as a pathfinding cosmology mission in lunar orbit.