Rapid energy dissipation in a yo-yo-type wire boom deployment system

A wire boom deployment system has been developed that uses a mechanism that is similar to the classic yo-yo despin mechanism. The goal has been to dev elop a way to rapidly deploy wire booms from a spinning sounding-rocket exp eriment. The main challenge in using a yo-yo-type mechanism is to dissipate the excess kinetic energy so that the wire booms do not rewrap themselves about the spacecraft after deploying. A ring has been added to the basic yo -yo mechanism. It rotates with respect to the main spacecraft about the nom inal spin axis, and the wire booms deploy from it. The ring/spacecraft join t is damped, and relative motion between the ring and the spacecraft dissip ates the excess energy. This system is analyzed and simulated in two and th ree dimensions. The results show that a well-tuned system can deploy 2.5 m wire booms in under 20 s and that it can tolerate the expected levels of as ymmetry and parametric uncertainty.