Reply #88: Use of mylar on spacecraft.

[TheWraith]

We do, in fact, still wrap space vehicles in mylar. But we only do it with satellites that are never going to come back to the ground. The reason for that is because on any kind of reentry vehicle, the mylar would burn off almost instantly on hitting the Earth's atmosphere. Compared to completely re-building a mylar skin for the Space Shuttle every time, the use of heat resistant ceramic tile is much more efficient. But a satellite never has to deal with that problem, so mylar is a cost effective option.