Qualification of a 4K Mechanical Cooler for Space Applications

British Aerospace Space Systems (BAe) have been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to industrialise the long life 4K mechanical cooler previously developed by Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). The requirement included a detailed review of design, manufacture of an EM cooler, followed by a characterisation and environmental test programme to pre-flight qualification levels.

The cooler consists of a two-stage Stirling Cycle precooler, and a closed cycle Joule Thomson stage for achievement of 4K. This paper describes the design and discusses the industrialisation activities and the proposed test programme.