The Dependency Of Space Travel Over Gold

By Jack Wagon

Gold is an important and precious metal in the present day world. However, it has been in use since long, but with the advancement of technology, the worth of gold has increased enormously. People have been using it for making jewellery, teeth and gold coins. Thus, these uses of gold make it a status symbol, because an ordinary person can not afford to have a gold tooth even today. So, gold plays a key role in the economic conditions of the world.

Besides the use of gold in manufacturing beautiful and attractive ornaments, it also has several other useful aspects. The multiple uses of this precious element make it extremely desirable not only amongst users but also for the betterment of the economy of the world. It can be converted in to wires or thin sheets. Moreover, it is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Thus, due to all these properties, it can be used for manufacturing electrical equipments.

The significance of gold in space travel cannot be denied. It is used in a number of ways in all space crafts, and it would not be wrong to say that without the use of gold, man could not have visited the moon. When building a spacecraft, it is important to note that once it has been launched in space, there is minimum possibility of repair or lubrication. Thus, highly dependable materials have to be used in their manufacturing such as gold.

Gold is used in circuits that are fitted into the spacecrafts as it is an excellent conductor. Also, many parts of spacecrafts are fitted with gold coated polyester film that reflects infrared radiations, and helps control the temperature inside the vehicle. Without this, the vehicle would absorb too much heat, making it difficult to operate.

If gold is not fitted in the circuits, the absorption of heat will be maximised and the vehicle can get out of control. Since gold is malleable, it can be shaped in to sheets having a diameter of 0.5mm. The sheets are fitted in the vehicle which helps in the reflection of adequate amount of sunlight. It is also used as a lubricant because no other lubricant can be used in the parts of spaceship as they easily get volatilised due to the space radiations.

It is also used for keeping the cosmonauts safe from the injurious radiations. Moreover, it is used in the helmets of cosmonauts. When the rays strike the visor, they are refracted from its surface thus, keeping the eye-sight of the cosmonaut unaffected.

Use of gold is significant in the space travel and since space travel has increased over the years, so has the demand of gold. It is used in almost all space vehicles designed by NASA which are worth billions of dollars. In the construction of the popular US Columbia Space Shuttle, around forty eight kilograms of gold was used for objects such as reflectors, conductors and in the brazing of alloys. Although gold is an expensive element, its myriad qualities make it vital in the use of space vehicles. Had it not been for gold, space travel might not have been such a successful mission as it is today. - 29871

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