Delivering the Impossible
Overview
Technicor and BIT 7 were chosen to work with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and in conjunction with University of Wisconsin Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) to deliver on joint Japanese – NASA X-ray astronomy project. This project was deemed “impossible” by many.
Challenge
The Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) is a mission-critical component of the Astro-E satellite. The ADR’s job is to cool the satellite’s X-ray detectors down to almost absolute zero, a temperature so low that the heat from a single photon can be detected.
The impossible task |
| Was to figure out how to string 1600 gold wires inside a space as large as a soda can without them ever touching. |
Solution
The key feature of the design includes an eutectic salt energy exchange system, extensive use of highly conductive gold, and proprietary metallurgical techniques to join materials that will experience vast temperature swings.
The ADR functions by utilizing a strong magnetic field to align the individual magnetic poles within the salt pill. The salt pill is connected to a liquid helium bath through a mechanical heat switch to reduce the magnetic field to a very low level, but not zero. This allows the spins of the salt molecules to begin moving randomly due to increased entropy. Because it requires energy to move the spins, energy is absorbed by the salt, cooling it even further. Eventually the molecular spins become completely random and the cooling stops. Then the magnetic field is increased, which in turn warms up the salt and the process starts over.
Results
The successful acceptance of the ADR cryogenic device for spacecraft nose cone instrument temperature control.
The impossible was achieved and the project was delivered.
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