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The issue with having sats be black is that black adsorbs a _lot_ of heat from the sun. Even more so with "better-than-vantablack". Cooling is actually a huge
by jofer 7y ago
The issue with having sats be black is that black adsorbs a _lot_ of heat from the sun. Even more so with "better-than-vantablack".
Cooling is actually a huge problem in space. It may be really cold, but it's extremely difficult to transfer heat without air/water/etc. You're limited to direct radiation, which is much less efficient than advection or conduction. Making things black means they'll get quite hot in the sun. That's a major problem for most satellites.
- outworlder 7y ago> The issue with having sats be black is that black adsorbs a _lot_ of heat from the sun. Even more so with "better-than-vantablack". It will also irradiate back a lot of heat once they are in the shade.
- jofer 7y agoYeah, but that's part of the problem as well. Thermal stresses are very real and a big problem. You want as constant a temp as possible, that that's much easier to do with a reflective exterior than a non-reflective one.
- AWildC182 7y agoImagine taking your computer and blowtorching it then sticking it in the freezer every 90 minutes for a decade. How long do you think it'll keep working?
- tandr 7y agoThank you, I did not think of it - I was mostly thinking about collisions and "visual" tracking/avoidance.