Heritage Overview: 20 Years of Commercial Production of Cryocoolers for Space

Abstract

The paper presents an overview of the results of industrialization of the ISAMS Stirling cooler technology, achieved through cooperation with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Seven batches of coolers have been produced and delivered to international customers for various space applications. A summary of in-orbit flight heritage is presented showing flight telemetry data for detector and mounting interface temperatures, vibration and other drive parameters. Thirteen of the 50-80K cooler models have been launched, with many of the coolers having already exceeded their required lifetimes. Highlights of cooler commissioning and performance in orbit are presented, with discussion of lessons learned, focusing on the last three production batches of the 50-80K Stirling cooler.

Development of the mechanical cryocooler system for the Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer

“…In parallel with the manufacture of these coolers, development activities were undertaken by RAL and Astrium resulting in the 50 to 80K cooler development model manufacture in 1992. Since then, Astrium has manufactured more than thirty flight standard 50 to 80K coolers fifteen of which have [5]. As shown in Figs.…”