Ongoing Life Testing of the DRS Infrared Technologies Flexure Spring Coolers

摘要

Flexure spring suspensions have demonstrated the capability of extending cryocooler lifetimes for space-based and commercial cryocooler applications. In the mid-1990s DRS Infrared Technologies, L.P. began an effort to adapt this technology to cryocoolers for tactical sensor applications. The flexure spring suspension system resulting from that effort has been described in previous papers. The flexure spring designs met the various size, weight, performance, and implementation requirements. This paper presents an update of the environmental and life testing that has been done to qualify these designs for military sensor applications.