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Electrifying Space: Zenno’s fuel-free satellite pointing system

New Zealand-based space-flight systems company, Zenno Astronautics (Zenno), has proudly announced a remarkable achievement—surpassing a staggering $75 million in product sales (equivalent to USD 48 million) for its groundbreaking innovation, the Z01™ superconducting magnetorquer for spacecraft attitude control. At the heart of Zenno’s success is the Z01, a revolutionary satellite...

World-First in Oman

A momentous event unfolded as the world’s first-ever liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier, graced the shores of Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat on August 14. Proudly crafted by the renowned Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), this marks the long-anticipated debut of Suiso Frontier in the Sultanate of Oman. The name “Suiso”...

SkyWater Unveils Cryo Lab, Partners with FormFactor for Advanced RTS Noise Detection in ROIC Applications

SkyWater Technology announced earlier this year the establishment of a new cryogenic lab dedicated to characterizing random telegraph signal (RTS) noise for read-out integrated circuits (ROICs). This move is aimed at addressing the crucial need to mitigate RTS noise in order to enhance image quality and performance for ROIC customers...

Breakthrough Enables Quench Detection in High-Field Magnets for Fusion Reactors

Researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division have developed a method for detecting and predicting the local loss of superconductivity in large-scale magnets that are capable of generating high magnetic fields. These high-field magnets are a core enabling technology for many areas of scientific research, medicine...

NASA Rocket Hardware Prepped for Shipment to Space Coast

With Artemis teammates and media watching, United Launch Alliance (ULA) crews guided the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis III to the loading dock at ULA’s facility in Decatur, Alabama, July 31. ULA’s R/S RocketShip will transport the flight hardware to ULA’s...

Contract Awarded for Acquisition of Large Cryogenic System for DUNE Detectors in South Dakota

A significant milestone has been achieved in the realization of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) with the awarding of a multi-year contract for the acquisition of a large cryogenic plant. This plant will be responsible for cooling tens of thousands of tons of liquid argon, bringing the ambitious experiment...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Two-Phase Flows

Two-phase flows are those flows in which there is a mixture of two physical states (solid, liquid or vapor). In cryogenic applications, such flows are almost always a mixture of a cryogenic liquid along with its corresponding vapor. A mixture of liquid helium and helium vapor would be a typical...

Supercritical Fluids

A supercritical fluid is defined as a substance whose temperature and pressure exceed those of its critical point. Every pure substance has a critical point that is defined in thermodynamic space by a critical temperature and a corresponding critical pressure. For example, the critical point for helium has a critical...

Brayton Cycle

The Brayton cycle is one of the many thermodynamic cycles used to generate cooling at cryogenic temperatures. Strictly speaking, when referring to cooling we should call this the reverse Brayton cycle as the original Brayton cycle describes the process of power generation or propulsion via a gas turbine. In many...

Latest in Cryo Central

Magnets

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...

Energy Storage

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...

Astronomy

ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere. On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...

Cryocoolers

What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...

Latest in Ask the Experts

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...

Separated layers of ice over a pipe

I want to know that why there are different layers of ice over a pipe carrying a cryogenic fluid, each layer separated with clear marks / lines? What do these layers signify?

Using nitrogen as a cryogen

Is it possible to achieve -200˚C using nitrogen as a cryogen?

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