Spacecraft paint jobs

wrote:
Thanks for all the great information. Very informative. Now if you'll indulge me
again, The Apollo capsule... I have a detailed model from the Danbury Mint
Milestones in Space series which has the Apollo capsule as having a mirrored
finish. On the Saturn V models, and in pictures of it sitting on the launch pad,
it's white. I'm assuming that that is the protective covering and also has to do
with the emergency escape mechanism? Is the underlying capsule really like a
mirror? And is that for maximum heat reflection? Also, if they want to reflect
heat, why black for Mercury and Gemini. Again, thanks for all this info. I guess
the upcoming fortieth anniversary has got me going!


The white thing over the Apollo CM was called the Boost Protective Cover
and was jettisoned at the same time the escape tower was. It protected
the spacecraft during ascent from heating and airflow, and it the escape
tower would have been used would have protected the Command Module from
its exhaust:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_...stem_.28LES.29
The silver coating on the exterior of the Command Module was sheets of
reflective foil that were applied in a fairly complex pattern.

Pat