Jan 6 1982
From The Space Library
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) reported testing the thermal performance of a helium cooling system to be used on the large infrared telescope experiment planned for flight on Spacelab 2 in 1984. For the MSFC managed experiment to work, the cooling system must keep the infrared detectors at a supercold temperature. The liquid-helium coolant stored during the mission in a 250-liter container would vaporize as withdrawn to circulate through telescope channels and keep the instrument near absolute zero, coldest possible temperature, at which all molecular action stops. One objective of the tests was to see how long the system could store the cold liquid; the container would be filled one or two weeks before launch, then undergo a seven-day mission. Tests would continue until March. (MSFC Release 82-2)
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