Out beyond the protection of the Earth's atmosphere, a whole gamut of nasty radioactive particles are spearing past our planet capable of rendering very expensive orbiting devices useless.
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That's why companies will be queuing up for time on the ANU's new irradiation testing beamline, capable of shooting high-energy particles at all types of materials so they can be space-ready.
It's becoming a huge commercial business opportunity, and the ANU's beamline at the research school of physics is the only one in Australia with the certification to perform the work.
Prior to this, all materials - from computer chips to solar panels - had to be taken to Europe for testing.
Companies want to get on board this project because it accelerates their product development.
- ANU research fellow Dr Ed Simpson
The new ANU equipment was developed through a $2.5 million grant from the Australian Space Agency, and the agency's deputy head, Dara Williams, unveiled the precision-tooled chamber in the laboratory on Tuesday.
It's a new capability added to the ANU's 50-year-old Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility and will lift Australia's fledgling space industry to the next level.
![ANU research fellow Dr Ed Simpson in between two of the laboratory's beamlines. Picture by Gary Ramage ANU research fellow Dr Ed Simpson in between two of the laboratory's beamlines. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ZBtA3uhzm786CWHKXPpjK4/fb2d9721-c686-48f9-969d-9a7060674524.jpg/r0_204_4000_2462_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"A load of companies want to get on board this project because it accelerates their product development," Dr Ed Simpson, a research fellow in the department said.
"The amazing thing I find is that so much of this hugely sophisticated equipment was built here by our engineering staff.
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"This beamline at the ANU has been an incredibly versatile nuclear research tool for decades and to have this space materials testing is yet another capability for it."
Fed by a negative ion source at its peak, the ANU's 15-storey accelerator strips the electrons off as they travel downward and creates positive ions which are accelerated to around 10 per cent of the speed of light by 12 superconducting loops cooled by liquid helium.
![R&D engineer Dr Peter Linardakis with the ANU's "space chamber". Picture by Gary Ramage R&D engineer Dr Peter Linardakis with the ANU's "space chamber". Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ZBtA3uhzm786CWHKXPpjK4/e6d8a1ce-9c96-4172-aa78-6983ac4510ce.jpg/r0_204_4000_2462_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The ion energy beam is then diverted around the building through series of huge magnets, and split into different streams.
As the highest energy ion accelerator in the country, for years it has been bombarding different elements, chasing the "holy grail" of nuclear physics: the next super-heavy element.
Now the space industry has come knocking, offering commercial opportunities because rival institutions with the same equipment overseas are heavily over-subscribed, with lengthy waiting times.
Another of the many capabilities of the accelerator is to aid medical science by making radioactive isotopes which can be injected into cancer cells.
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