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Astrium delivers microgravity instrument DECLIC to the CNES

Paris, 30 April 2007

On 24 April, DECLIC (Dispositif pour l’Etude de la Croissance et des Liquides Critiques*), the microgravity experimental instrument developed by Astrium for the French space agency CNES, successfully passed its flight readiness.

DECLIC will be installed in the US Destiny laboratory on board the International Space Station (ISS), in 2008.

Astrium conducted the research, integration and system testing of the instrument for CNES at its Aquitaine site, as the contract not only includes delivery of the flight model but also of an engineering design model, a training model and another 'laboratory' model.

This instrument will be used to conduct experiments on the solidification process of transparent model alloys. It will increase our knowledge of the laws governing the behaviour of liquids near their critical point in a quasi-microgravity environment, i.e. without the natural phenomena of convection and sedimentation which affect or conceal certain physical mechanisms on Earth.

DECLIC has been created to provide the researchers who designed and developed the scientific experiments with outstanding performance in terms of thermal control and optical diagnostics.

The results obtained will be used in a wide range of practical applications in fields such as chemical engineering, the food industry, wastewater treatment or metal alloy foundries.

Once operational, DECLIC will be jointly used by CNES – which financed the instrument – and NASA, which is responsible for transporting it to the station via the Shuttle and providing the resources required for it to operate on board the ISS for three years. DECLIC will be remotely operated from the CNES space centre in Toulouse.

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2006, EADS Astrium had a turnover of €3.2 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are: the business units Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of €39.4 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.

*DECLIC

Apparatus for the Study of Material Growth and Liquid Behaviour

Contacts for the media
Rémi Roland
EADS Astrium (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0)1 77 75 80 37

Jeremy Close
EADS Astrium (UK)
Tel.: +44 (0)1438 77 38 72

Mathias Pikelj
EADS Astrium (GER)
Tel.: +49 (0)7545 8 91 23