Testing of a Deployable SAR Membrane Antenna Mechanical Prototype

This work presents the current mechanical prototype of a SAR membrane antenna being tested at the Canadian Space Agency. The current concept of the C-Band membrane antenna calls for a 4 m by 10 m membrane, a wing of that antenna measuring 4 m by 5 m. The prototype measures 2 m by 3 m, which is slightly longer than a half-scale prototype of one wing. This prototype will be fully representative of the mechanical concept of the CBand membrane antenna. The three horizontal layers, with the vertical layers embedded, are flattened one on top of the other for stowage. When deployed, the bottom layer and the top layer are separated by approximately 15 cm. A mechanism has been devised to tension the membranes and deploy them. Each side of the spacecraft has a frame made of struts and the deployment is activated from a single six-bar linkage mechanism. The hinges are made of spring tapes, guiding devices, and a shape memory alloy. The current state of the integration of the frame is reported here, as well as the tests done to assess the performance of the tensioning scheme of the membrane.