IRAS (InfraRed Astronomical Satelite)
Super fluid helium was also used in the IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) as a cooling component.
IRAS stayed aloft for over a year gathering infrared data. The signals in the galactic plane were expected, but the signals in the ecliptic plane were surprising because a peak of emissions at about 20 microns was observed from dust, etc. in the ecliptic plane. Treating it as blackbody radiation and using the Wien displacement law, an effective temperature of about 145 K was obtained for this solar system debris.
IRAS stayed aloft for over a year gathering infrared data. The signals in the galactic plane were expected, but the signals in the ecliptic plane were surprising because a peak of emissions at about 20 microns was observed from dust, etc. in the ecliptic plane. Treating it as blackbody radiation and using the Wien displacement law, an effective temperature of about 145 K was obtained for this solar system debris.