Synchronously deployable tetrahedral truss reflector

Abstract

For apertures above 50 meters, the high structural stiffness and compact packaging of tetrahedral truss make this concept an attractive candidate for the reflector support structure. Various features of a deployable, foldable, doubly curved tetrahedral truss structure are presented as well as methods used to design the truss geometry and to synchronize deployment of the folding elements. An arc division method for distributing truss nodal locations over a doubly curved reflector surface is shown to decrease differences in surface strut lengths and to increase the geometric similarity of all node condigurations in each strut surface. These features enhance the design of a single node and strut synchronizer mechanism for each surface examined. The folding error resulting from using this approach is minimal.