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Wade, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Wade, L..

At least 19 records

Hydrogen Sorption Cryocoolers for the Planck Mission

Two continuous opertation 18K/20K sorption coolers are being developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a NASA contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) Planck mission that is currently planned for a 2007 launch.

Cryocooler sorption coolers↗

The exo-zodiacal disk mapper

Zodiacal dust around neighboring stars could obscure the signal of terrestrial planets observed with the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) if that dust is similar to that in the Solar System. Unfortunately, little is known about the presence, or frequency of occurrence of zodiacal dust around stars and so the relevance of zodiacal dust to the design of the TPF, or to the TPF mission, is unknown. It is likely that direct observation of zodiacal dust disks will be necessary to confidently determine the characteristics of individual systems. A survey of a large number of stars in the solar neighborhood that could be candidates for observation with TPF should be undertaken. We present a concept for a space mission to undertake a sensitive, large-scale survey capable of characterizing solar-system-like zodiacal dust around 400 stars within 20 pc of the Sun.

Petro, Larry↗

Continuous and Periodic Sorption Cryocoolers for 10 K and Below

A novel system is described for Sorption Cryocooling to 10 K, using hydrogen as refrigerant fluid, sorbent beds of metal hydride powders, and thermal compression and expansion. Current status is summarized of sorption cryocooler development for space applications requiring cooling of infrared and submillimeter sensors to 10 K and below. Several design variations, challenges, and predictions are discussed.

cryogenics↗

Active Refrigeration for Space Astrophysics Missions

The use of cryogen dewars limits mission lifetime, increases sensor mass, and increases program engineering and launch costs on spacebased low-background, precision-pointing instruments, telescopes and interferometers.

mechanical and sorption coolers cryogenic radiator↗