history of radiant barrier foil Brief History Radiant barrier was introduced to the United States in the 1920's to insulate residential homes and commercial buildings. The product started being produced commercially around 1945, but the company producing the barrier was ruled a monopoly by the US goverment and shut down. Around 1955 Clark E. Beck of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, at the request of NASA, developed radiant barrier technology for the space program. In a quest to discover a way to protect the astronauts from temperatures ranging from -273 degrees to +238 degrees Celcius, he found that a thin sheet of aluminum foil radiant barrier would do the same job as a seven-foot thick piece of conventional insulation. Needless to say the astronauts space suits could not be seven-foot thick, therefore radiant barrier was implemented into the space suits. By placing the reflective barrier in the space suits it reflected the astronauts body temperature back at them, keeping them warm. It also reflected the deadly radiation from the sun helping to keep them cool. The radiant barrier kept more than 95 percent of the radiant heat from penetrating the space suits, also small holes were placed in the material to allow moisture to escape. The end result was that the material maintained constant, and comfortable temperatures inside the space suits. When developing the radiant barrier technology in the 1950's Clark E. Beck never could have dreamed that 50 years later his technology would evolve into things such as energy-saving insulation, automobile insulation, protective clothing, candy wrappers, potato chip bags, and many other uses. The energy consumers of today owe Clak E. Beck a huge thanks for this technology, because in the end it will not only save you thousands of dollars, but it will also conserve energy for future generations!