Cooler for Space-Based Storage of Low-Temperature Cryogens

The Air Force needs systems capable of storing cryogens in space for longer than 20 years. We propose to develop enabling technology for long-term space-based storage of low-temperature (<35 K) cryogens. We propose to develop a compact and lightweightcooler that operates efficiently at cold temperatures. Our cooler will efficiently liquefy vapor boil-off from heat leakage to the cryogen, so the required power input to our cooler will be small, and the entire system (including solar panels) will becompact and lightweight. In Phase I, we will demonstrate operation of a breadboard cooler. In Phase II, we will optimize the design of our cooler for a particular space-based cooling application, and we will build and test an engineering design modelcooler. In Phase III, we will license our cooler technology to other companies, and we will design, build, and sell our cooler for many applications in the Federal Government and the private sector.The commercial potential of our cooler technology isgreat because it can be applied to make current coolers efficient for cold load temperatures. We believe every company that is currently making coolers for spacecraft and terrestrial applications will want to license our technology, once we havedemonstrated operation of a breadboard cooler in Phase I. Commercial applications of our cooler include cooling for: space-based stored cryogens for space-based lasers, orbit transfer vehicles, and propellant storage depots; space-based detectors; NASApropellant manufacturing on Mars; CMOS circuits; multi-chip modules; filterbanks; high-speed switches; stable oscillators for radar applications; filters for cellular phones; instrumentation for medical monitoring; and primary voltage standards.