Mechanical coolers - An option for space cryogenic cooling applications

Abstract

There are three basic options for achieving cryogenic temperatures in space: radiative cooling, cryogen cooling, and mechanical coolers. Both the radiative and cryogen options can fail to meet the highly-demanding requirements for future space missions in terms of temperature, long life and low mass. The mechanical coolers that ESA is currently developing can overcome several of these major problems, thereby providing much greater flexibility in overall spacecraft configuration compared with current cryogenic cooling designs.