If it wasn’t for Optical Solar Reflector (OSRs), spacecraft components would have a hard time withstanding heat from solar radiation. However, current OSR technologies are not without their shortcomings: they are either heavy, fragile and overly rigid, or tend to age rapidly. New-generation meta-OSRs promises to solve these problems whilst reducing overall spacecraft/satellite weight.
The OSR market is currently dominated by quartz OSRs and, to a much lesser extent, silver/Teflon foils. With its metamaterial OSRs (meta-OSRs), the META-REFLECTOR consortium offers the best of both worlds: the space durability of quartz OSRs with the flexibility and ease of use of Ag/FEP foils.
Further details: Next-gen coatings for spacecrafts