Radiators - sswelm/KSP-Interstellar-Extended GitHub Wiki

Radiators are used to dissipate any excess heat on a spacecraft. Contrary to popular belief, space is not, in fact, very cold. The temperature of space is very low, but since it is almost completely empty, no noticeable amount of convection (the primary method of heat dispersal on Earth) will occur. In space, the only way to dissipate heat is by radiating it away. Objects will dissipate heat depending on their temperature according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law ( wikipedia ), which states objects will radiate away heat with respect to their area and the fourth power of their temperature. Accordingly, the best way to get rid of heat in space is to stick out a large, flat radiator and get it as hot as possible while still being tolerable.

In the game, radiators are absolutely essential. They dissipate the waste heat generated by reactors , solar panels, [microwave transceivers](Microwave Power Transceivers) , and [plasma engines](Plasma Thruster). They are also required use any of the generators .They radiate away waste heat to prevent your ship from overheating, which can cause components to shut down from the excess heat. A fission reactor will SCRAM ( wikipedia ) if it gets to hot and can only be restarted with an EVA'd Kerbal. Antimatter reactors, fusion reactors, and other components will also shut down, but can be restarted remotely.

Unupgraded, radiators have relatively pitiful heat dissipation, and may not be able to even support an upgraded fission reactor practically. It is very important to research Experimental Electrics as fast as possible as a result.

###Why are radiators necessary? Main Article: Waste Heat Management

If you want to be safe, a good rule of thumb is to have enough radiators to dissipate an equal amount of heat that your reactors will produce at 100% power. The level of power reactors produce and radiators radiate can be found in the VAB. In practice, you can usually get away with less radiators, especially if you are using only a thermal rocket nozzle. Fission and fusion reactors run at a minimum of 30% power, so you should always have enough radiators to radiate that much power. Antimatter reactors have no such minimum. Solar panels produce half as much waste heat as they do electric charge (1 EC/s = 1 kW). This amount is usually small enough that any radiator can handle it, unless you have an excessive amount of solar panels or you are very close to the sun.

The collapsible radiator panels are designed to be effective in space, and thus radiate much more heat than the inline or radial radiators. The inline and radial radiators are designed to be more effective at in-atmosphere cooling, and so get a large bonus to convection. They are also usually sufficient to cool small solar-powered craft.

All radiators are less effective in space, so be sure to test your craft in both environments before venturing into deep space or you may find misfortune.

Folding Radiators

Fixed Radiators

Fixed Graphite Radiators

Other Radiators