The effect of helium venting on the orbit of the Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Cryogenic Cooling, Infrared Astronomy Satellite, Orbit Decay, Satellite Orbits, Thrust Vector Control, Exhaust Nozzles, Liquid Helium, Satellite Perturbation, Venting

Scientific paper

Soon after the launch of the Infra-Red Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in January 1983 it became evident that the satellite altitude was decaying at a rate far in excess of the expected decay of about 10 cm/day. The actual decay was of the order 10.8 meters/day, corresponding to a constant force of 67 micronewtons. A number of theories were put forward to explain this anomolous behavior, but all were eventually discarded except for one. This remaining candidate was the cryogen venting system on-board IRAS which was used to cool the infra-red telescope. This paper describes the theory and analysis that led to identification of the source of the decay, the results obtained and the final proof that an inbalance in the vent nozzle performance was indeed the cause.

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