Since the end of last year, cosine has been expanding its cleanrooms at its headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands. This expansion is in preparation for the mass production phase of Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) NewATHENA mission, as well as for remote sensing instruments and other activities.
cosine already operates over 1,000 m² of ISO 7 to ISO 5 cleanrooms and advanced assembly facilities, dedicated to building and testing systems for space and industrial clients. This expansion will increase cosine’s cleanroom capacity to 1,300 m² and create additional space for customers who require our expertise in the development, production, testing, and qualification of measurement systems.
Frank de Neeve, Head of Facility Management, has been overseeing the logistical aspects of the expansion. “We’re building a factory within a company infrastructure. When I started here a year ago, the ceiling of the first floor was almost a blank canvas. Now, you can see the efforts cosine has made resulting in a completely new HVAC system, large liquid nitrogen installations and a remarkable level of high-tech quality cleanrooms. The HVAC systems, built in close collaboration with Induct, will enable precise control of pressure, temperature, and humidity in each cleanroom. With this setup, we can ensure that we meet the ISO classification required for cleanrooms.”
In total, cosine will now host eleven cleanrooms, as well as two testing facilities, at the headquarters in Sassenheim.
Moving and installation of high-tech equipment
With the new systems nearing completion, cosine is now gradually relocating equipment from its facilities in Warmond to the new facilities in Sassenheim.
In early September, we successfully moved and installed a fully automated magnetron sputtering coating machine, which enhances reflectivity by applying a coating to the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO) X-ray mirrors. This week, the wet bench—crucial for cleaning SPO mirrors in preparation for stacking—will also be transferred to the new cleanroom and a large ultra-pure water installation has been delivered. All machines are critical to the mass production of the X-ray optics mirrors, which we manufacture for the European Space Agency’s NewAthena X-ray telescope. At these facilities cosine also develops and produces high-energy systems for many other customers, with applications in gamma-ray lenses, X-ray interferometry and X-ray imaging.
“While the cleanrooms are now almost fully operational, moving the equipment still requires a significant amount of work. However, we expect everything to be fully operational by the end of October,” concludes Frank de Neeve.
About cosine
cosine is a leading worldwide company in the development of space instrumentation, such as Silicon Pore Optics for astronomy and remote sensing solutions with onboard analytics for Earth Observation and planetary science. We combine physics and technology to bring out-of-the-box solutions to our clients. We have been developing and delivering innovative measurement systems for space and industrial applications since 1998. Our company operates 1,300 m2 of cleanrooms and high-tech assembly facilities to build and test the systems we produce for customers at our headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands.
