Northrop Grumman Cryocoolers Onboard the Japan Meteorological Agency Satellite, Himawari-8, Become 18th and 19th Units to Operate in Space without a F
Himawari-8 Cryocooler Control Electronics (CCE) drives and controls the mechanical cryocooler and is designed to operate in space flight environments, including vacuum, launch vibration and radiation.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) continues its record of success in space cryocoolers with the latest units to become operational on-orbit.
Northrop Grumman’s cryocoolers enable the operation of the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), built by Exelis, Inc., by creating the extremely cold temperature required for its operation. The Imager, on board the Japan Meteorological Agency weather satellite manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Himawari-8, is improving weather forecasts and early warnings for severe weather in Eastern Asia and Western Pacific.
The Himawari-8 cryocoolers join the multiple Northrop Grumman cryocoolers successfully operating in space, most recently the High Efficiency Cryocooler on board NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite, launched July 2.
Himawari-8 cryocooler with the lowest temperature cold head mounted on the compressor, left, and the remote cold head assembly on the right. The Northrop Grumman-designed system provides simultaneous cooling at two temperatures for the Himawari-8 weather satellite.
For the Advanced Himawari Imager, Northrop Grumman’s HEC cryocooler has been configured with a second cold head to provide simultaneous cooling at two temperatures. The system maintains its high reliability, inherent in the design with no moving parts in the cold end and a non-wearing compressor. The design used for Himawari-8 has also been delivered to support Exelis’ Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“It is gratifying to know our technology plays such a key role in climate research and weather monitoring for U.S. and international customers,” said Chris Yamada, vice president, Aerospace Products, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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