futatwins
Assuming a design like JWST, the cryogenic coolant system should be a top priority for a maintenance mission decades later. That how its predecessor died, the previous IR telescope in deep space, Spitzer. JWST has a heat pump that should keep the LHe around longer than Spitzer’s evaporative cooling system. You need to keep an IR space telescope cold enough that it doesn’t glow in the IR and flood out the imagery.
