Commissioning update: Cryocooler is up & running!

The SpIRIT team resumed payload commissioning activities at full capacity after a brief recharging break, and we are very pleased to report that a significant milestone has been achieved for the satellite Thermal Management Integrated System (TheMIS).

TheMIS passed all detailed functional tests and now we can report in-orbit demonstration of the Stirling cycle cryocooler. The plot below shows temperatures versus time for the heat strap connected to the cold tip, as well as for the cooler body (hot end) and compressor. The cooler is clearly reducing the temperature of the instrument transferring the heat to the hot end, with quantitative behavior as expected given the test conditions. Our team is very proud to have achieved one of the first in-orbit operations of a Stirling cycle cooler on a CubeSat, all with in-house developed electrical and electronic control system.