Cryocontamination of liquid nitrogen cooled balloon-borne infrared telescopes

Physics – Optics

Scientific paper

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Balloon-Borne Instruments, Cassegrain Optics, Contamination, Cryodeposits, Infrared Telescopes, Liquid Nitrogen, Counterflow, Cryogenic Fluids, Environment Simulation, Gas Flow, Stratosphere, Vapor Pressure, Water Vapor

Scientific paper

The cryocontamination caused by the condensation of atmospheric constituents onto the optical components of a liquid nitrogen cooled balloon-borne infrared Cassegrain telescope is investigated under simulated stratospheric conditions. The growth rates and structures of cryodeposits on the primary and secondary telescope mirrors were determined by thin film interferometry. Tests were conducted at a simulated altitude of 40 km. Cryodeposition rates are found to range from 80 to 228 A/h, depending on negative elevation and water vapor pressure and decrease in the presence of a counterflow of gaseous nitrogen to a limit of 8 A/h. Cryodeposition rates on the primary mirror are found to be 25 A/h lower than on the secondary, due to fundamental differences between the transfer mechanisms of the mirror systems. The surfaces of cryodeposits on both mirrors are found to be very smooth, with roughness determined by the surface structures of the mirrors themselves.

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