SBIR-STTR Award

Deployable booms are critical in enhancing the ability of space-borne surveillance systems to gather information by separating instruments from the spacecraft or by increasing antenna apertures to many times the size of the spacecraft. Examples of currently envisioned missions exist in both the commercial and military worlds. Deployable booms act as both deployment linear actuators to form the structure and, once fully extended, form the deployed structure. The current state of technology is limited to one-dimensional (1-D) deployable structures such as the boom. Stowed envelope is at a premium for any launch vehicle and even a highly efficient 1-D compaction ratio can still exhibit a relatively large cross-sectional area when stowed. Furthermore, very large scale structures typically have been envisioned as requiring space-based assembly which is both expensive and dangerous. By reducing the stowed cross-section of the structure, three-dimensional (3-D) deployable structures allow spacecraft to deploy structures which otherwise would not fit within the launch envelope of the spacecraft.

Future DoD spacecraft will require larger and more thermally stable deployable structures than ever before to support these instruments. The structures must be stiff and lightweight and affordable. The deployable structure must be reliable and capable of being fully ground-tested prior to flight to ensure that it will perform as required. In the 3-D Deployable Articulated Boom System (3DABS), Starsys is developing an innovative new technology that will enable Air Force mission planners and instrument designers to provide space-based capabilities critical to the needs of the future warfighter. The 3DABS structure expands both in width, height, and length as it deploys, providing a large area system that is also very structurally deep. The structural system is launched in a compact, well constrained state. On orbit, launch restraints are released and the “Super Battens” unfold laterally and vertically to form the macroscopic structure that is the full footprint of the system. The individual articulated longeron booms deploy in a known kinematic controlled fashion, providing full structural stiffness at every stage of the deployment.

Keywords:
Deployable Booms, Truss-Of-Trusses, 3-D Booms, Stable Deployed Structure