Design on Spaceborne Three Orthotropic Thin-Wall Tubular Antennas Deployment Mechanism

The purpose of spaceborne three orthotropic thin-wall tubular antenna is for space science probe which consists of three orthotropic tubular antennas. Three orthotropic thin-wall tubular antennas deployment mechanism is designed which consists of upper plate, lower plate, reel, burn-wire and tension spring. Flattened antenna tube can be wound in a reel which can be hold-down and locked by Dyneema string. Release by giving current to resistor, the string will melt while its temperature reaches its burning point, then the upper plate will be pulled up and the antennas can be deployed by stored strain energy in itself. According to a certain project requirements three orthotropic thinwall tubular antennas mechanism prototype was developed and tested, antenna tube was broken due to “blossom” phenomenon in deployment process. For avoiding “blossom” during deployment of antennas mechanism, the flange of reel is improved, so antennas can be deployed smoothly. Compared to motor-driven antenna mechanism, this antennas deployment mechanism has advantages of simple structure, lower mass and lower power consumption.