Citation:
Rana, Hannah, Kazunori Akiyama, Mark Freeman, Peter Galison, Paul K. Grimes, Kazuhiro Hada, Mareki Honma, and et al. “The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) cryocooling instrument.” In Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave. Yokohama, Japan, In Preparation.
Abstract:
The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a space-VLBI mission that will extend the Event Horizon Telescope into space. The cryogenic receivers must be cooled down to 4.5K. A cryogenic system consisting of two Stirling cryocoolers and a Joule-Thomson cooler has been explored which consists of a 20K and a 4.5K cold stage in order to cool a combined heat load of approximately 250mW. The integration challenges of the cryocooling system with the receivers and broader instrument are explored, where power, mass, and thermal challenges require careful considerations and trade-off. This study presents a feasible cryocooling design that reaches the cold temperature requirements of the BHEX instrument.
