Start Date | Start Time | End Date | End Time |
---|---|---|---|
01/17/2003 | 1749 | 01/20/2003 | 1835 |
Subject: | NSA/AERI/C1 - Failure of AERI cryogenic cooler |
DataStreams: | nsaaerisummaryC1.a1, nsaaeriengineerC1.a1, nsaaerich1C1.a1, nsaaerich2C1.a1 |
Description: | In January 2003, the cryogenic cooler current for the Barrow, AERI detector was steadily increasing. This increase is a sign of cooler failure. On January 16,2003, the cooler began to make noise. The cooler was shut-off on January 17,2003 and any condensed gases were allowed to vent. Condensed gases in the detector dewar cause a cooler to work harder and increase the current. The cooler was then resealed and turned on. However, the cooler did not recover and the current was at a maximum. The cooler was unable to completely cool the detector and the detector never achieved a temperature below 72K. Higher detector temperature increases instrument noise. The instrument was shut off on January 20, 2003 at 1835GMT to prevent a catatrophic failure due to complete cooler failure and repressurization of the detector dewar, which would result in a subsequent implosion of the dewar. |
Suggestions: | null Data quality prior to January 17, 2003 at 1749 GMT is not affected. |
Measurements: | nsaaeriengineerC1.a1: more
nsaaerich1C1.a1: more nsaaerisummaryC1.a1: more nsaaerich2C1.a1: more |