| To cool and maintain a stable low temperature environment, GIFTS will flight validate redundant, two-stage miniaturized cryogenic coolers. These TRW designed cryo-coolers, based on a validated Air Force designed high efficiency cryocooler, have demonstrated a four-fold improvement in cooling per unit mass over earlier designs during testing. They will provide cooling for the the Focal Plane Arrays in two stages, (at 60 degress Kelvin and at approximately 140 degrees Kelvin). This will enable the interferometer to operate with decreased background noise. |