Electrically conductive black silicone paint having spacecraft applications

摘要

A spacecraft includes a spacecraft element, such as a deployable antenna, and a black paint (20) on the spacecraft element. The paint (20) has a composition of 100 parts by weight of a silicone-based polymer (24), and from about 1.35 to about 3.5 parts by weight of an electrically conductive carbon pigment (22) having a porous, sponge-like structure. The paint (20) is applied by mixing these constituents with a solvent such as naphtha or xylene in an amount sufficient to permit the paint (20) to be applied by a selected technique such as brushing or spraying.