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It depends - coating on a low orbiting satellite needs to conform to various requirements: - needs to survive vacuum - needs to survive atomic oxygen, that do
by m4rtink 7y ago
It depends - coating on a low orbiting satellite needs to conform to various requirements:
- needs to survive vacuum
- needs to survive atomic oxygen, that does show up at low Earth orbital altitudes
- needs to handle the thermal cycling as the satellite goes in and out of Earths shadow
- needs to survive unfiltered sunlight without any atmospheric convection to normalize temperature
- needs to avoid overheating the part of the satellite it is covering
- should not emit particles, that could collide with other satellites
- needs to keeps doing this for about 5 years (design lifetime of individual Starlink satellites)
- should harmlessly burn up on satellite reantry
If the given material can do all the above, while still keeping it's desirable properties, then it can be used on a Starlink satellite. :)
- dr_orpheus 7y agoOne of the targeted markets of VantaBlack was the aerospace industry to paint the inside of baffles on telescopes and optical sensors. It is currently being used in some star trackers on satellites [1]. Overheating is definitely a big concern for painting your satellite back. There is a lot of work that goes in to thermal design of satellites and that surfaces have the proper optical properties for absorption, reflection and emission. [1] http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/design-engineering-news/worlds-blackest-material-optimises-sensitivity-of-satellite-star-trackers/140029/ http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/design-engineering-news/worl...