Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe and the most important feedstock for life. In Greek, the word “hydrogen” is composed of the terms “hydro” and “genes,” which means water generator. In 1766, the English chemist Henry Cavendish distinguished hydrogen from other flammable gases and identified its properties, but the name hydrogen was given by Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier in 1781. Hydrogen was commonly featured in the design of gas balloons in the 18th century, and then in the 20th century, substantial exploitation of hydrogen propellants in space propulsion systems began.

Ability Engineering Technology (AET), an Illinois-based manufacturer of equipment used in cryogenic process applications, has announced the introduction of a standard product line of Cryogenic Valves. According to Matt Resler, Sales Director at AET, “Our cryogenic valves have been successfully used for more than 30 years by our DOE clients, and we only recently decided to make them available for purchase by the larger industrial market.”

During a year filled with uncertainty, many were worried about the effects of the pandemic on CSA’s biennial Space Cryogenics Workshop (SCW). After much consideration and effort, we are pleased to report the successful execution of our first – and hopefully only – virtual SCW. Hosted virtually on the Remo® online platform on November 15 and 16, the event was two days of presentations, networking and reconnecting with colleagues and friends. Each of the two days was broken up into two groups of presentations, beginning and ending with networking opportunities in Remo’s virtual conference room. Co-chairs Amir Jahromi and Mark Kimball moderated all four sessions while CSA’s Megan Galeher and Tate Paglia – executive director and editor, respectively – worked as administrators for the sessions. Sponsors included Lake Shore Cryotronics, XMA, Lihan, Eta Space and Ability Engineering Technology, all CSA Corporate Sustaining Members.

For several years, three US Department of Energy national labs have worked together to further improve state-of-the-art particle accelerator technology. First tests of a prototype built at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab, CSA CSM) show the effort has paid off, with a new component setting records.

Every week since the beginning of November, a tube trailer filled with approximately 4,600 cubic meters (750 kg) of compressed gaseous helium delivers its load to the ITER cryoplant in the south of France. At a later stage, the deliveries will become more massive, as helium is delivered in liquid form in 25,000-cubic-meter (4-tonne) cryogenic containers. Progressively, the helium inventory in the cryoplant will reach the volume required to accommodate the different “clients” inside the tokamak: the lion’s share for the superconducting magnets and the cryogenic pumping system, a smaller percentage for the cryostat shielding.