日本の宇宙用小型冷凍機の開発について

抄録

This report describes a summary of the heritage regarding on-orbit Japanese mechanical coolers and their development history and status, as well as the achievements of on-orbit SHI coolers for space use. These coolers have produced useful results for future on-orbit projects. By investigating results related to cooling performance degradation, we have learned that the contamination caused by filling gases, especially by CO₂ and H₂O, is crucially important. Advanced models of a two-stage Stirling cooler and JT cooler have been improved in terms of abrasion, and further development and investigations continue to decrease the contamination in the coolers. In closing three items to be developed for next-generation coolers are suggested.