English: In the same way that individual components and systems are tested to ensure their readiness for the violence of launch and the vacuum and temperetures extremes of space, the same is true of complete satellites.

That is the task of a 3000 sq. m cleanroom complex nestled in sandy dunes along the Dutch coast, filled with test equipment to simulate all aspects of spaceflight: the ESTEC Test Centre.

Its major infrastructure includes Europe’s biggest vacuum chamber, equipped with a Sun simulator with liquid nitrogen run through its walls to reproduce space conditions; Europe’s loudest sound system, used to blast satellites with simulated launch noise and Europe’s most powerful hydraulic shaker table, reproducing launcher vibrations equivalent to a major earthquake.