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Hinode (Solar-B) was launched in September 2006 aboard an M-V-7 rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan. Using a combination of visible, EUV and X-ray instrumentation Hinode will study the interaction between the Sun's magnetic field and corona to increase our understanding of the causes of solar variability. The UK-led Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) will image spectral lines within two carefully chosen wavelength bands, to observe the solar corona and upper transition regions in high spatial and temporal resolution. This paper first describes the thermal design of the EIS instrument and then goes on to make an assessment of the post launch thermal performance. During engineering commissioning the instrument temperatures remained within applicable limits and were close to pre-launch predictions. Some minor modifications to the thermal model were made to refine the correlation with the measured data.

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observatory, scheduled for launch in 2014. It will provide unique capabilities to probe the deeply dust-enshrouded regions of the Universe, investigating the history of star formation both near and far. The MIRI is the coldest instrument on the observatory. Its thermal design is driven by requirements to cool an Optics Module (OM) to below 15.5 K and detectors within this to below 6.7 K with a stability of <10 mK over 1000 seconds. The OM is accommodated within the JWST Integrated Science instrument Module (ISIM) which is cooled passively to between 32 and 40 K. The instrument temperatures are achieved by a combination of thermal isolation of the OM and the ISIM supplemented with active cooling of the OM by a dedicated cryo-cooler.

Beagle 2 is traveling to Mars aboard the European Space Agency Mars Express Orbiter. After an interplanetary cruise of almost seven months, Beagle 2 will be ejected and free-fly for five days before landing on the surface of Mars. The length of the landed mission is constrained by the environmental conditions on Mars (for example, dust settling out of the atmosphere). The baseline mission is planned for 180 Sols (Martian days) with options to extend as technical performance allows. During 2002, tests were undertaken at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), UK, to verify the thermal design of Beagle 2 and to provide measured data for updating the thermal computer models. Two sets of tests were made to simulate (i) the journey from Earth to Mars, and (ii) the landed configuration on Mars. Verifying the thermal design of the five day free-flying approach to Mars was critical.

The ESA Solar Orbiter is planned for launch in the 2013 to 2015 time frame and aims to study the Sun in unprecedented detail. The Extreme Ultra Violet Spectrometer (EUS) Instrument will provide plasma diagnostic observations of solar plasmas over a broad temperature range from chromosphere to corona for the study of all solar atmospheric phenomena. In broad terms, the instrument comprises a telescope and a spectrometer, the latter containing detector units that must be cooled to about −80 °C. The Solar Orbiter will be inserted into an approximately 150 day solar orbit with an aphelion of about 0.8 Astronomical Units (AU) and a perihelion of about 0.2 AU. Instrument observations are likely to occur for about 30 days centered on perihelion. During the Cruise phase the spacecraft will be as far as 1.2 AU from the Sun. The nominal operational mission is almost three years (about seven orbits), with potentially an extended mission of a further two or three years.

TopSat was launched on 27 October 2005 aboard a Kosmos 3M rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia. The mission is a collaboration between four UK organizations; RAL (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), SSTL (Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.), QinetiQ and Infoterra. Its objective is to demonstrate provision of rapid response high-resolution imagery to fixed and mobile ground stations using a low cost mini-satellite. The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory was responsible for supplying the TopSat Camera. This is an innovative low-cost remote sensing imager capable of producing 2.5 meter resolution panchromatic imagery. This paper describes the thermal design and testing of the Camera that has been undertaken at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and provides an assessment of its on-orbit thermal performance.

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observatory, scheduled for launch in 2013. It will provide unique capabilities to probe the distant or deeply dust-enshrouded regions of the Universe, investigating the history of star formation both near and far. The MIRI is the coldest instrument on the observatory. Its thermal design is driven by requirements to cool its Optics Module (OM) to below 15.5 K and detectors within this to below 6.7 K. The MIRI OM is accommodated within the JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) which is cooled passively to between 32 and 40 K. The instrument temperatures are achieved by a combination of thermal isolation of the OM from the ISIM supplemented with active cooling of the OM by a dedicated cryocooler.