In a cryogenic regenerator including a regenerator tube, a partitioning tube, whose tube wall is perforated by uniformly distributed through-holes, inside of which regenerator packing is provided, and having rib rings wrapped peripherally around its outer wall, is arranged coaxially inside the regenerator tube, with a buffer cavity between the regenerator-tube inner wall and the partitioning-tube outer wall. In a pulse-tube refrigerator including the regenerator and a gas reservoir, the regenerator, thanks to the designing of its reservoir and through-holes, draws in radial flows such that the form of heat exchange in the same regenerator cross-section goes from being simple thermal conduction to being heat exchange in which heat convection is coupled with thermal conduction, enhancing radial heat transfer and enabling rapid equilibration of temperature gradients along the regenerator periphery, and, by effectively keeping non-uniformity phenomena inside the regenerator under control, making improved refrigerator efficiency possible.

Components within a cryocooler are scaled and/or configured for operation at a CMG operating frequency (e.g., 100 Hz) rather than at 30 to 70 Hz, matching the exported disturbances of control moment gyroscopes on the same platform and reducing line-of-sight jitter for electro-optic infrared focal plane array sensors. The smaller piston working volume and other reduced component sizes allow the cryocooler to be smaller and lighter than designs operating at lower frequencies. Combined with an advanced regenerator suitable for the higher frequency operation, the cryocooler has improved cooling efficiency over such lower frequency designs.