Ricor K506B Cryocooler Performance during the Clementine Mission and Ground Testing: A Status Report

Two Ricor K506B Stirling cycle cryocoolcrs with H-10 control electronics were used on the Clementine spacecraft, one cooling a 256 × 256 InSb infrared detector for the near-infrared (NIR) camera and the other cooling a 128 × 128 HgCdTe focal plane array on the longwave infrared (LWIR) camera. This is the first use of these Ricor Stirling cryocoolers in a space environment. This mission has demonstrated the use of these Clementine lightweight imaging sensors in the demanding environment of space, and and has space-qualified this Ricor cryocooler. Moreover, nearly the entire 38 million square kilometers of the Moon’s surface was mapped in 11 spectral bands, six in the near-infrared, during the 71 days of lunar mapping. The more than 1.6 million digital images collected are providing mineral typing scientific data to the international civilian scientific community.