What is the gold-colored shiny stuff on the outside of Space Shuttle?

Question

:)

Answer 1

gold foil
on the shuttle???
no gold here
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/98pc-1550.jpg
or here
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-001075.jpg
or here
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-001091.jpg


NOW HERE we have foil
http://www.rps.psu.edu/0305/graphics/picturing_02.jpg

its gold foil used to insulate the inside of the ship.
gold reflects Infrared like nothing else.
infrared is heat.

gold does NOT make heat by itself

Answer 2

There is no gold colored shiny stuff on the outside of the space shuttle.

If you are talking about the stuff on many satellites and the Apollo LM and things like that, it is a thermal blanket. Basically it is a reflective plastic sheet to keep the space craft from getting too hot in the direct sunlight that always shines on it in space.

Answer 3

the gold shiny stuff on spacecrafts is Multi Layer Insulation (MLI). This is a passive thermal control design that is standard on all unmanned spacecraft. The shuttle uses a much more active thermal control system and because of the strain of re-entry, it cannot use MLI for thermal control.

Answer 4

gold foil... it conducts heat and helps keep the shuttle from burning up in one spot while freezing in another.