Cryogenic system of far-infrared spectroscopy space telescope (Conference Presentation)

The FIRSST (Far-Infrared Spectroscopy Space Telescope) identifies the physical processes of planets formation, traces the flow of water, witnesses the galaxy growth to cosmological distances. The payload consists of a primary telescope and two instruments spanning tens to hundreds of micron wavelengths provide low to super high spectral resolving power. One instrument is cooled to 120 mK with a flight heritage ADR design. The other instrument detector, the heat sink for the ADR, and the entire telescope are cooled to 4.5 K with the Ball 4 K Cryocooler. The passive thermal system significantly reduces the cooling requirement for the 4 K Cryocooler. The multiple thermal stage architecture provides thermal immunity to the thermal environment load. FIRSST’s cryogenic thermal system meets all thermal requirements with margin. Ball’s experienced design team leverages lessons learned from past programs, included verification testing throughout all program stages, ensuring all thermal requirements are met with margin.