Apollo CM and reflective mylar covering

For years I was perplexed by some photos showing Apollo CMs to be
reflective. Recently I read that they were covered with silvered
mylar. Were all of them covered with this silvered mylar? What was
the purpose of it? Any more info on it?

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Replace you know what by j to email

"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
|
| Were all of them covered with this silvered mylar?

The ones used for lunar missions were covered with aluminized Mylar in long
strips. The ones used for Skylab missions had one side painted white.

| What was the purpose of it?

Thermal control. It provided the right combination of optical properties
(i.e., emissivity, reflectivity) to manage the spacecraft's thermal
characteristics in sunlight for that type of mission.

| Any more info on it?

You can see some at the San Diego Aerospace Museum and many other museums.
It peeled off the spacecraft during re-entry and was kept by many of the
recovery workers as souvenirs. The best analogue in common experience is
the stuff they make small potato chip bags out of.

--
|
The universe is not required to conform | Jay Windley
to the expectations of the ignorant. | webmaster @ clavius.org

Jud McCranie wrote in message . ..
For years I was perplexed by some photos showing Apollo CMs to be
reflective. Recently I read that they were covered with silvered
mylar. Were all of them covered with this silvered mylar? What was
the purpose of it? Any more info on it?

The mylar was part of the thermal protection. By being highly
mirrored, it caused nearly all incident sunlight to scatter, rather
than be absorbed. It's basically the same reason why spacesuits are
bright white. A mirror is a better scatterer than flat white, but
there would be other problems in making spacesuits with mirrored
surfaces.

-Mark Martin

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:45:24 -0600, "Jay Windley"
actually posted something without acting like
a pompous ass:

You can see some at the San Diego Aerospace Museum and many other museums.
It peeled off the spacecraft during re-entry and was kept by many of the
recovery workers as souvenirs. The best analogue in common experience is
the stuff they make small potato chip bags out of.

....Not quite as thick, tho. The samples I've seen *and* felt were more
along the lines of the reflective foil you put on your windows to
reflect the sunlight and attempt to keep your room cool. Nowhere near
as transparent, but about the same thickness.

....Most of the Apollo capsules have bits and flecks of the foil still
attached. I've got a couple of shots on my A17 page, and next time I
get down to Houstopolis I intend to get some hi-res images of what's
left.

The universe is not required to conform | www.io.com/~o_m
to the ignorance of Jay Windley. | Founding Member of HORS

....Ah, .sig fodder.

OM

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