Creare

What is the current state of reverse turbo-Brayton cryocooler development, and what is the realistic timeline to a 50-100W flight-qualified unit at 20K?

The turbo-Brayton cycle is the leading candidate for scaling space cryocoolers from milliwatt to hundred-watt class. Zagarola (2006) demonstrated 20W at 20K on the ground. Understanding the path to 100W+ flight units is critical for our cryogenic architecture decision gate at month 30.