TRW Delivers High Efficiency Cryocoolers to Air Force for Testing.REDONDO BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 1995--TRW Inc. delivered to the U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory (AFPL (Aladdin Free Public License) A license created by Aladdin Enterprises for its Ghostscript software. It combined open source with an exception for commercial ventures. The AFPL was later dropped in favor of the GPL license. See Ghostscript. ) two highly efficient "pulse tube" cryocoolers that have demonstrated efficiencies equal to or better than conventional Stirling cryocoolers. These units are designed to last for 10 years. The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization Noun 1. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization - an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality BMDO has sponsored development of a 60 Kelvin unit and a 35 Kelvin unit. Under a $3.6 million contract managed by AFPL, these units will be performance tested at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. and then delivered to Phillips for additional performance and life testing. A larger 35 Kelvin engineering model was already delivered last year. Cryocoolers are refrigeration refrigeration, process for drawing heat from substances to lower their temperature, often for purposes of preservation. Refrigeration in its modern, portable form also depends on insulating materials that are thin yet effective. machines that maintain super-cold operating temperatures, typically 250 to 450 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, for sensitive spaceborne space·borne adj. Operating in or involving equipment operating in outer space: a spaceborne satellite. sensors and high-speed electronics equipment (zero degrees Kelvin equals -460 degrees Fahrenheit). Pulse tube cryocoolers contain no moving parts in the cold-producing portion of the system and no wearing components in the warm section -- unlike conventional Stirling-type coolers whose use in space payloads is constrained by life limitations. The simple design of the pulse tube offers twice the inherent reliability of Stirling coolers. Although historically the efficiency of pulse tube coolers was less than that of Stirling coolers, TRW TRW The Real World (TV reality show) TRW The Right Way TRW Tactical Reconnaissance Wing TRW The Retriever Weekly (University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD) TRW Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc has made roughly a fourfold improvement in efficiency over the last eight or nine years, enabling pulse tube cryocoolers to operate with efficiencies comparable to Stirling cryocoolers. "Through a series of improvements in our understanding of the design and packaging of cryocoolers, we have been able to increase pulse tube efficiency significantly," said William Burt, a cryocooler program manager at TRW Space & Electronics Group in Redondo Beach, Calif. "These improvements will significantly expand the options for space flight coolers." TRW is a leading developer of cryocoolers for aerospace applications. Among its projects, TRW is developing a pulse tube cryocooler for the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is an instrument on the Earth Observing System Aqua satellite, launched in May 2002. It samples 2378 channels of infrared radiation from the Earth, and can produce maps of the globe showing the concentration of a number of gases in the (AIRS) instrument set to fly on a NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Earth Observing System The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a program of NASA comprising a series of artificial satellite missions and scientific instruments in Earth orbit designed for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans of the Earth. satellite. AIRS will help scientists to improve weather prediction and to monitor climate variations and trends. The TRW Space & Electronics Group, an operating unit operating unit A type of operating company that engages in transactions with outsiders and that is owned by another business. For example, in 1995 the stockholders of Capital Cities/ABC approved a $19 billion merger with the Walt Disney Company, whereupon of TRW Inc., produces advanced technology spacecraft and electronic systems for U.S. government, commercial and international customers. It has built more than 185 communications, scientific, and defense spacecraft, developed more than 200 advanced space instruments, and integrated some 550 experiments into spacecraft. TRW Inc. provides advanced technology products and services for the automotive, space and defense, and information markets worldwide. Its 1994 sales totaled $9 billion. -0- Specifications of the TRW Pulse Tube Cooler line: - 10-year life using non-moving part pulse tube cold heads - Compact, lightweight, integral package or split package - Miniaturized control electronics with temperature and vibration digital control loops - Compressor volumes from 1 cc to 100 cc - Dynamically balanced for vibration cancellation 35 Kelvin unit - 300 milliwatts cooling power (up to 1 watt for larger unit) - 12 kg weight - 82 watts; balanced flexure bearing compressor 60 Kelvin unit - 2 watts cooling power - 12 kg weight - 70 watts; balanced flexure bearing compressor CONTACT: TRW Inc., Redondo Beach Sally Koris, 310/812-4721 |
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