Abstract The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate has been the lead Department of Defense (DoD) agency for the development of low capacity cryogenic refrigerators and integration technologies for space applications since the late 1980s. High capacity cryocoolers and long term (>20 years) on orbit propellant storage are potentially enabling technology for future High Energy Laser (HEL) space systems, orbital transfer vehicles, and on orbit propellant depots. Cryogenic applications in space based systems requiring long term cryogen storage includes: significant cooling requirements for subcritical cryogens, cryocooler redundancy issues, on orbit cryogen transfer from vehicle to vehicle, large shield cooling, long term gas and liquid cryogen storage, large distributed cooling surfaces, cryogenic system integration issues, and significant spacecraft system penalties due to mass and input power. AFRL has pursued low capacity cryocooler concepts including reverse Brayton cycle, single and multiple stage Stirling cycle, advanced Joule-Thomson cycle, and Pulse Tube (Stirling cycle variant) designs. The cryocooler technology spans a wide range of cooling temperatures (from ∼10 Kelvin to 150 Kelvin) and heat loads (up to 10 Watts at 95 Kelvin). Additionally, AFRL has pursued advanced cryogenic integration technology including cryogenic thermal switches, cryogenic heat transport, thermal storage, and cryogenic integration schemes to reduce system mass and input power penalties. Current cryogenic integration and cryocooler development programs address the negative impacts of the cryogenic system on optical space systems including: induced line of sight vibration, longevity, power consumption, mass, thermal transport, thermal storage, and thermal switching. However, the cryogenic cooling requirements for future Air Force systems may require large capacity cryogenic cooling, extremely mass and power efficient mechanical refrigerators, and significant improvements in long term on orbit cryogen storage. The technical efforts at AFRL concentrate on exploratory and advanced development programs that focus on
Advanced Cryogenic Integration and Cooling Technology for Space-Based Long Term Cryogen Storage
Cryocoolers 11 ; 749-758
2002-01-01
10 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
Advanced Cryogenic Integration and Cooling Technology for Space-Based Long Term Cryogen Storage
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