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Seems like the perfect use case for Vantablack. Of course the satellites will still block ER as they pass across the sky, but at least if they aren't reflecting
by scoot 6y ago
Seems like the perfect use case for Vantablack. Of course the satellites will still block ER as they pass across the sky, but at least if they aren't reflecting so much light it would surely be of some help?
- lifthrasiir 6y agoPainting was already tried and doesn't work. > But the black paint made the satellite thermally ‘hot’, harming its internet operations, said Patricia Cooper, SpaceX’s vice-president of satellite government affairs, at a recent webinar.
- dharma1 6y agomaybe something like this? https://www.newscientist.com/article/2241717-infrared-reflecting-paint-can-cool-buildings-even-when-it-is-black/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2241717-infrared-reflec... Would still be bad for astronomy but at least the impact for naked eye would be less.
- valuearb 6y agoSpaceX is adding visors, which solve the problem without heating the satellites.
- throwaway2048 6y agoIt is completely impossible to block light and not absorb and re-radiate heat.
- valuearb 6y agoPedantic much? In conversational English what I said is != blocks ALL light without absorbing ANY heat. Visors block enough light to greatly reduce reflected light, and do it without substantially increasing satellite temperature. There is a thing called an insulator, which I hear can efficiently reduce the transfer of heat from things like visor to satellite.
- gpm 6y agoIt is possible to reflect the light away from earth and the satellite, which is all the astronomers want and is blocking the light from reaching the main body of the satellite. It is also possible to absorb the heat somewhere else if you do just absorb the light.
- throwaway2048 6y agoIts not possible to keep the angle consistent without constant active station keeping, which would require an entire redesign.
- gpm 6y agoI mean... for any sort of shade to work they must be doing some sort of station keeping to keep it between the satellite and the sun. Moreover they need stationkeeping on their final orbit to point their antenna in the right direction. So I'm not sure I see your point?