Flight qualified solid argon cooler for the BBXRT instrumentA solid argon cooler (SAC) for attached Shuttle payloads has been developed and qualified to meet the need for low cost cooling of flight instruments to the temperature range of 60-120 K. The SACs have been designed and tested with the intent of flying them up to five times. Two coolers, as part of the Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) instrument on the ASTRO-1 payload, are awaiting launch on Space Shuttle mission STS-35. This paper describes the design, testing and performance of the SAC and its vacuum maintenance system (VMS), used to maintain the argon as a solid during launch delays of up to 5 days. BBXRT cryogen system design features used to satisfy Shuttle safety requirements are discussed, along with SAC ground servicing equipment (GSE) and procedures used to fill, freeze and subcool the argon.
Document ID
19920040256
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cygnarowicz, Thomas A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Schein, Michael E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lindauer, David A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Scarlotti, Roger (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Pederson, Robert (Ball Aerospace Systems Group Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1990
Subject Category
Engineering (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: Cryogenic Optical Systems and Instruments IV