Dynamics Modeling and Analysis of Spacecraft with Large Deployable Hoop-Truss Antenna

Abstract

Large deployable hoop-truss antennas are widely used in satellite communication systems for their high antenna gain and small packed volume. Knowledge of the deployment dynamics of the large deployable hoop-truss antenna and its coupling with spacecraft attitude motion are essential for the design of deployment mechanisms and attitude control systems. In this paper, a spacecraft with two flexible solar panels, which are reduced by Craig–Bampton component modal synthesis, is modeled by natural coordinate formulation. A large deployable hoop-truss antenna is modeled with the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. Both lead to a constant-mass matrix without the centrifugal and Coriolis forces. The whole dynamics model is used to solve the attitude and the reaction moment during the deployment process. Nonsynchronous deployment phenomena due to the structural flexibility and the decay of the driving force are investigated, and results show that these phenomena can increase the stresses suffered by the hoop truss, which should be considered in the design of a large deployable hoop-truss antenna.