Echo's Legacy
Originally published in 1980
Body
The Echo 1 Satellite is simply a very large balloon, the diameter of a 10 story building. Metallized Products, Inc. developed a special material for NASA used for the balloons's skin. For bouncing signals material had to be reflective, lightweight, and thin enough to be folded into a beach ball size canister for delivery into orbit, where it would automatically inflate. Material selected was mylar polyester, with a reflective layer of tiny aluminum particles so fine that Echo's skin had a thickness half that of cellophane on a cigarette package.
Full article: http://hdl.handle.net/hdl:2060/20030004776
Abstract
The Echo 1 Satellite is simply a very large balloon, the diameter of a 10 story building. Metallized Products, Inc. developed a special material for NASA used for the balloons's skin. For bouncing signals material had to be reflective, lightweight, and thin enough to be folded into a beach ball size canister for delivery into orbit, where it would automatically inflate. Material selected was mylar polyester, with a reflective layer of tiny aluminum particles so fine that Echo's skin had a thickness half that of cellophane on a cigarette package.
Echo's Legacy
Echo's Legacy