Cold Atom Space PAyload (CASPA)

CASPA (Cold Atom Space PAyload) was an Innovate UK-funded project to design and develop a prototype 6U satellite carrying a cold atom experiment into space. The project was led by Teledyne e2v Ltd (Teledyne e2v), and involved 6 other consortium members including XCAM Ltd, University of Birmingham, University of Southampton, Covesion, Gooch and Housego, and Clyde Space.

The project aimed to prove that operating a miniature cold atom system in space was a viable possibility and raised the TRL level of the technology required to a level at which such payloads can now be considered for larger satellites which require more mature technology with space heritage.

Within the project XCAM was responsible for the Electronics and Imaging Sub-system, a set of PC-104 PCBs providing the power and data interface between the Platform and the entire payload and an imager (based on XCAM's C3D CubeSat camera) that was used to capture images of the cold atom cloud within the cold atom trap.

Further information on CASPA has been published here:

Devani, D., Maddox, S., Renshaw, R. et al. Gravity sensing: cold atom trap onboard a 6U CubeSat. CEAS Space J 12, 539–549 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-020-00326-4

View the CASPA poster here: