Seventh International Astronautics Congress: Summaries of Some of the More Important Papers given at the Congress Held in Rome, September 17–22, 1956

The major heat sources for satellites above the atmosphere are (1) the sun, (2) the sunlight reflected from the earth and (3) the long‐wave radiation from the earth. In addition, there is sometimes production of heat by internal sources. For a satellite travelling above the atmosphere, the energy it receives is primarily transferred by radiation, infra‐red and visible. Therefore, the equilibrium temperature of the satellite is determined by the properties of the satellite's skin, that is, its radiation characteristics (emissivity and albedo). When dealing with a variable input of heat, then the thermal properties of the satellite body become important: the heat capacity of the satellite, for example, determines how rapidly it can follow the variation in heat input. The results for the equilibrium temperature are presented in the form of nomograms.