IMPROVED SURFACE ACCURACY OF PRECISION MEMBRANE REFLECTORS THROUGH ADAPTIVE RIM CONTROL

The desire to reduce launch cost and stowed volume has resulted in a renewed interest in membrane and inflatable structures in space. Because resolution depends on aperture size, and there is a practical limit to the dimensions of rigid structures deployed in space, membrane reflectors promise a wide variety of applications across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio and radar waves, to optical frequencies. Adequate on-orbit performance of these reflectors remains a technical challenge, however. In this paper, we focus on the surface accuracy of membrane reflectors, that is, their deviation from a reference profile, appropriate metrics, and corrective actions that may be employed.