Large Diameter Centrifuge

Housed at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) is not designed for astronaut training but specifically for research. Jointly financed by ESA and the Dutch government, it is available for a wide variety of applications. The 8 m-diameter LDC can operate at up to 20 g, with four gondolas able to accommodate up to 80 kg of payloads, with a central gondola as a control. Two additional gondolas can be attached to mid-arm to provide different g-levels simultaneously. Experiments can be spun for up to six months non-stop.