Tri-Fold Deployable Reflector for Communication Satellites

JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is now developing tri-fold deployable reflectors. The reflector can be made to be up to 28m in diameter. The weight density is less than half its predecessor, the large deployable reflector mounted on the Engineering Test Satellite VIII. This concept can be applied to realize an over 50m reflector by constructing modular reflector in which the tri-fold reflector is one of the segmented modules. The trifold reflector is made from the tri-fold deployable truss and the reflector surface. The trifold deployable truss is composed of three four-sided links with joints and can be stowed as a collapsible umbrella. As a stand-alone, the reflector can take on an octagonal shape. For the modular reflector, the segmented module is hexagonal. The feasibility and design of tri-fold deployable reflectors have been confirmed and improved through structural analyses. The analyses are performed with JAXA’s FEM analyzer “Origami/ETS.” The prototype of trifold reflector has been developed and is now undergoing testing. From the result of tri-fold truss deployment test it is confirmed that JAXA’s FEM Analyzer can estimate the mechanical behavior of hardware within 10% error. Afterwards the reflector will be tested and evaluated in the deployment, hold and release, vibration, and surface accuracy measurement tests.