Why are satellites wrapped in gold foil? There is something more of Ny Teknik readers wonder about. Karin Woxlin the space company RUAG Space provides an answer that surprises.
Regardless of all the images of gold shiny satellites, they have not a single gram of gold on its surface. It says Karin Woxlin, project manager at Gothenburg company RUAG Space and expert on thermal analysis. The company develops and manufactures advanced technical equipment for space. The question of why satellites are wrapped in gold foil, she is used to getting. And the answer is not what anyone wondering expect.
– Gold is not involved at all. The gold-like sheet is in fact the top layer of a “sheath” which is a kind of thermos in space, said Karin Woxlin.
Jacket top layer consists of a yellowish plastic film coated with aluminum on the inside. Most of the sun’s rays go through the plastic, and is reflected by the aluminum foil. That’s what makes the satellite appears to be shimmering in gold.
The small amount of sun that is captured (or absorbed) by the mantle must be able to radiate away. The sheath would otherwise be too hot because there is no cooling air in space. That is why the yellow plastic needed. It is unlike aluminum good at radiating heat.
– So my explanation of why a satellite is wrapped in a yellow mantle (blanket) – commonly called MLI (Multi Layer Insulation) – is to it isolates so that it is neither too hot nor too cold inside the satellite without the shell itself becomes hot.
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