AMS-02 cryocooler baseline configuration and EM qualification program Original Research Article

Four Sunpower M87N Stirling-cycle cryocoolers will be used to extend the lifetime of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) experiment. The cryocoolers will be mounted to the AMS-02 vacuum case using a structure that will thermally and mechanically decouple the cryocooler from the vacuum case while providing compliance to allow force attenuation using a passive balancer system. The cryocooler drive is implemented using a 60 Hz pulse duration modulated square wave. Details of the testing program, mounting assembly and drive scheme are presented. AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector containing a large superfluid helium-cooled superconducting magnet. Highly sensitive detector plates inside the magnet measure a particleʹs speed, momentum, charge, and path. The AMS-02 experiment, which will be flown as an attached payload on the International Space Station, will study the properties and origin of cosmic particles and nuclei including antimatter and dark matter. Two engineering model cryocoolers have been under test at NASA Goddard since November 2001.