PREDICTED CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INFLATABLE ALUMINIZED-PLASTIC SPHERICAL EARTH SATELLITE WITH REGARD TO TEMPERATURE, VISIBILITY, REFLECTION OF RADAR WAVES, AND PROTECTION FROM ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

摘要

An investigation was made to predict whether a hollow aluminized-plastic sphere in a terrestrial orbit at an altitude of about 1,000 miles would be easily visible to the naked eye, would be a good reflector of radar waves, would be protected from deterioration of the plastic by ultraviolet radiation, and would assume acceptable extremes of temperature. It was found that a vapor-deposited aluminum coating with a thickness of 2,200 angstroms on l/4-mil-thick if yard forming a 100-foot-diameter sphere would probably meet each of the requirements regarding radiation.