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Equivalence Principle test with MICROSCOPE : end of Phase B payload status

MICROSCOPE is a space mission, scheduled for a launch in 2009, which aims to verify the Equivalence Principle (EP) with an accuracy of 1E-15, over a hundred times better than what has been realised on Earth today. The EP test is based on the measurement of the electrostatic forces to be applied on each test-mass of two concentric inertial sensors, in order to maintain these two masses on the same gravitational trajectory. The instrument formed by these two sensors is called a differential accelerometer. On board the MICROSCOPE satellite, two instruments will embark: one with two masses made of a different material, used for the test itself, and the other with two masses made of the same material, used as a performance reference. During the Phase B study, a prototype model of the mechanics of the differential accelerometer and an engineering model of the electronics have already been manufactured and tested. This presentation describes the overall design, the first outputs from the analysis of the prototype and engineering models, and the resulting impact on the performance of the instrument.