How is the space environment around satellites?

Space, where satellites keep flying, is different from Earth’s environment in many ways. Let’s look at the differences in terms of temperature.

Compared to the Earth, the space environment is easy to heat up and easy to cool down. This is because there is no air in space, and “convection” which heat is exchanged in the air does not occur. It gets hotter than 100℃ in areas exposed to sunlight, and conversely, cools down to minus 100℃ or lower in shaded areas.

Satellites flying in such environment have “thermal control” to release heat when it gets hot and to keep heat when it gets cold. In order to ensure the proper operation of the machinery (sensors) inside the satellite in the severe environment of space, where the satellite tends to heat up and cool down easily, the thermal control is performed both inside and outside the satellite.