Qualifying the Sunpower M-87N Cryocooler for Operation in the AMS-02 Magnetic Field

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMs-02) experiment consists of a superfluid helium dewar. The outer vapor cooled shields of the dewar are to be held at 77 K by four Sunpower M87N cryocoolers. These cryocoolers have magnetic components that might interact with the external applied field generated by the superconducting magnet, thereby degrading the cryocoolers' performance. Engineering models of the Sunpower M87N are being tested at NASA Goddard Space Flight in order to qualify them to operate in a magnetic environment similar to the AMS-02 magnetic environment. AMS-02 will be a space station based particle detector studying the properties and origin of cosmic particles including antimatter and dark matter. It uses a superconducting magnet that is cooled by the superfluid helium dewar. Highly sensitive detector plates inside the magnet will measure a particle's momentum and charge.