DEPLOYMENT TEST METHODS FOR A LARGE DEPLOYABLE MESH REFLECTOR

The deployment characteristics of large structures must be evaluated b y ground tests. A deployment test system is described that enables hig h-precision gravity canceling, in contrast to the conventional radial support test method (hanging a reflector by cables suspended from a hi gh ceiling), A large deployable reflector composed of hexagonal pyrami d-shaped modules is used in the deployment test, The reflector is depl oyed by a coil spring force and controlled by motors and cables for a quasistatic stable deployment motion. A magnetically suspended slider test system was developed for accurate deployment tests. We confirm th at hanging at the pantograph bar is the most suitable test configurati on to simulate microgravity conditions, according to one-sided model e xperiments and deploying force analyses using mechanism analysis softw are, We also establish that a vertical support method, using the devel oped magnetically suspended sliders, enables high-precision deployment for a large deployable mesh reflector.