Large inflatable deployable antenna flight experiment results

Abstract

Large space-based deployable antenna structures are needed for a variety of applications. However, recent reductions of antenna user resources have resulted in a real need for low-cost, large-size, light-weight, and reliable deployable space antenna structures. Fortunately, a new class of deployable space structures, called “inflatable space structures” is under development at L'Garde, Inc. The potential of this new concept was recognized by NASA who selected it for a flight experiment. The objective of the experiment was to develop a large, low-cost inflatable antenna structure and demonstrate its mechanical performance in the space environment. The carrier for this free-flying experiment was the STS-launched and recovered Spartan spacecraft. The experiment hardware consisted of a 14-meter diameter off-set parabolic reflector structure. The Spartan 207/IAE was successfully flown on STS 77, deployed on May 20, 1996 with Spartan recovery on May 21,1996. The basic antenna structure deployed successfully, but in an uncontrolled manner, that clearly demonstrated the robustness of this new type of space structure. The low cost of the flight antenna structure hardware and the outstanding mechanical packaging demonstrated on orbit clearly validated the potential of this new class of space structure for enabling new, low-cost missions.