Experimental Study of the Influence of Processing on MLI Performance for Space Use

Most spacecrafts flown today are usually covered with multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets as the most efficient thermal control element. In the present study, the thermal performance of MLI blankets was measured by the calorimetric method using a liquid nitrogen cryostat. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of various processing on MLI performance for space use. It was found that effect of seam amounts to 50 % of the total heat transfer. The smaller area of the MLI blanket is, the worse is the thermal performance of the MLI blanket.