Development of a space qualified Surface Tension Confined Liquid Cryogen Cooler (STCLCC)

The Surface Tension Confined Liquid Cryogen Cooler (STCLCC), a new type of cryogenic cooler which is being developed by the NASA-GSFC for spaceflight payloads, is described. The STCLCC will be capable of maintaining instrumentation within the temperature range of 10-120 K and will allow liquid cryogens to be flown in space without the risk of liquid being entrained in the vent gas. A low-density open-cell material in the STCLCC acts as a 'sponge', with the surface tension trapping the liquid cryogen within its pores and keeping the liquid away from the cooler's vent during launch, zero-g operations, and landing. It is emphasized that the STCLCC concept is amenable to a wide variety of applications, whenever a passive low-cost cooler is required or when the on-orbit service of a cooler would increase a mission's lifetime.