The ACES/PHARAO space mission

Abstract

Proposed in 1997, the ACES/PHARAO experiment is a space mission in fundamental physics with two atomic clocks on the International Space Station, a network of ultra-stable clocks on the ground, and space-to-ground time transfer systems. The ACES flight instruments are near completion and launch in space is planned for the first half of 2017 for a mission duration of three years. A key element of the satellite payload is a cold-atom clock designed for microgravity environment, PHARAO, operating with laser-cooled cesium atoms. Here we first report on the design and tests of the PHARAO flight model, which is now completed and ready for launch. We then briefly present the status of development of the other instruments of the ACES payload, the Space Hydrogen Maser, the microwave time-transfer system (MWL), and the laser time transfer ELT.