I have yet to see the material in the link posted. Radiators that rely solely on radiative transfer and conduction as thier method of removing heat require a large surface area, and in the absence of a gas or liquid to convect heat away the surfaces must not be arranged so that infa red emmenating from them is simply not reabsorbed into an adajacent surface. In other words the geometry that could work is quite limited in scope.
Like I said, I can't download the file referenced above.
I do not accept Wikipedia as a reliable source of information because of its dubious way of compiling 'facts' (people just post information there and represent it as fact). However, the information you linked is essentially correct. It doesn't make any difference. The Apollo Command and service modules I saw on the launch pad were not highly polished either, they were painted.


I think my firewall has a problem with the link , it simply won't download.
As I recall the IC technology available at the time was about 50% efficient. That means the other half of the electricity running through this particular circuitry that was "lost' was done so in the form of heat energy.

That depends on the requirements and the available technology.



I'd have to disagree. I've seen a lot of information presented here on Apollo and have often used it as a launchpad for my own research. Nevertheless, it isn't our responsibility to do your research for claims that you have made.



What "unsubstantiated process" are you referring to? Heat rejection by radiation is an extremely well substantiated process, and you have already mentioned it yourself. Also, a "radiator" that works primarily using convection is quite different from a true radiator that works by radiation.



No! There is a glycol evaporator system in addition to the radiators for peak heat load situations, but the radiators are the primary heat rejection system. They work by radiation. [/QUOTE]

Well then Houston, we have a problem. The radiator you describe would require a large surface area composed of fins or ribs arranged in such a way that the heat radiated from one surface would not simply be reabsorbed by an adjacent element. It would also need to be visable on the outside of the spacecraft to work with any efficiency, and always kept on the shaded side of the craft. SOmething stinks here, doesn;t it? The command module was POLISHED? Not the ones I saw on TV.