DESIGN AND QUALIFICATION OF A XUHV SYSTEM FOR THE USE ON A SOUNDING ROCKET PAYLOAD

The MAIUS-1 experiment is a high precision quantum optics experiment about to fly on a VSB30 sounding rocket in spring 2016. To perform the quantum optics experiments a vacuum chamber with a pressure below 5E-10 mbar is essential. This pressure has to be reached 45 s after motor burn-out. The detailed design and the components of the MAIUS vacuum system will be presented in this paper. This design and the used components have been qualified for operation under vibrational loads of up 8.1 g RMS. A pressure rise has been observed in all test runs, which is caused by temporary leaks at the seals. It was proven that the pressure rise is depending on the level of vibrations applied. The design presented herein is capable of regaining a pressure of 5E-10 mbar in less than 40 s when tested at 5.4 g RMS