On-Orbit Performance of the FY-4 GIIRS Stirling Cryocooler Over 2 Years

Cryogenic technology for infrared detection in space

“…The GIIRS on China’s FY-4 adopts the long-life Stirling refrigerator (Fig. 15 ) developed by SITP to cool a medium-longwave infrared detector with a cooling capacity of 2.3 W@60 K and a design life of more than 7 years 37 . To meet the cryogenic requirements of next-generation high-resolution infrared multispectral cameras and spectral imagers, SITP also developed a 60 K single-stage pulse tube cryocooler, which weighs 8.5 kg and effectively provides more than 6 W of net cooling power with an input power of 195 W 38 .…”

“…The visual and infrared multispectral sensor (VIMI) is one of the payloads of Gaofen-5 (GF-5, 2018), and the cooling system uses an 83 K pulse tube cooler to cool the shortwave and medium-wave infrared detectors and a 60 K pulse tube cooler to cool the longwave detectors, which uses an opposed piston compressor to effectively reduce the vibration interference to the detectors 39 .

Figure 15 FY-4 Stirling cryocooler 37 .

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“…The development of long-life (> 5 years) and highly reliable space cryogenic coolers is synergistic and symbiotic with the development of modern infrared detection technology. For example, the Improved Stratospheric and Mesosphere Sounder (ISAMS) on UARS was successfully launched in 1991, which realized the first space application of Oxford Stirling refrigerators 4 ; China’s Fengyun-4, Gaofen-5 and other satellites have also been launched for space application with long-life mechanical refrigerators 5 , 6 ; their working lives have extended beyond the service lives of a low-temperature Dewar in the early Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) 3 .…”