Miniature Cryogenic Turboalternator  

Creare, Inc. 

Hanover, NH 
 

Miniature, high speed vibration free, turboalternator

• High speed shaft in cryogenic gas bearings.
• High precision, automated miniature rotor fabrication techniques
• Demonstrated shaft/bearing system at 50° Kelvin
• Achieved design speed and power targets for the alternator

• Longer term commercial applications include cryocoolers for low temperature and high temperature superconducting medical and electronics instruments

• A $13 million multi-year Phase III contract awarded by NASA resulted in the successful installation and operation of a 75°K cooler on Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS instrument.
• Multi-stage coolers for Air Force space IR sensors at temperatures as low as 10°K.
• Likely bidder for a 4°K to 6°K cooler for James Webb Space Telescope MIRI instrument.

Return to NASA SBIR Success Listings