ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge gives scientists access to high gravity levels for minutes, days or even weeks on end.
Based at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) is a centrifuge designed not for astronaut training but specifically for research. Jointly financed by ESA and the Dutch government, the LDC is available for a wide variety of applications.
The eight-metre-diameter LDC can operate at up to 20 g, with four gondolas able to accommodate up to 80 kg of payloads, with central gondola as a control. Two additional gondolas can be optionally attached to on mid-arm to simultaneously provide different g-levels. Experiments can be spun for up to six months non-stop.