RE: [VAL] White Roof

["Forrest McClure" <rollie51@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think I remember that NASA initially started out with shiny
spacecraft but then went to white to keep heat gain down. While a very
shiny surface will reflect heat better they found out that even in
space it didn't take too long for dust to collect on the surface. Even
with a small amount of dust the reflective ability was substantially
reduced, and white was found to be the better because dust didn't have
nearly the same adverse effect on it as on a polished surface.

Forrest McClure
VAC Librarian