COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: S1

Description

<p style="margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in">Composite Technology Development, Inc. (CTD) seeks to advance the state of art with a novel deployable low-frequency antenna technology for SmallSats comprised of elastic memory composite antenna booms and deployer mechanisms.&nbsp; These booms incorporate a shape memory polymer matrix into a fiber-reinforced composite substrate with an outer metallization layer for RF performance.&nbsp;&nbsp; The elastic memory composite technology enables these antenna elements to be heated, rolled, and cooled to lock them into a stowed shape.&nbsp; They can be deployed smoothly with heat without inducing shock and without the need of for actuators or deployment motors.&nbsp; The long-length, low-frequency antenna elements can be packaged into exceedingly small stowed volumes, with simplified mechanisms, lower parts count, and lower mass than current state of the art boom and deployer systems.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in">The primary technical objectives of the proposed effort are as follows:</p><ul><li>Develop a series of system requirements for the development effort</li><li>Demonstrate feasibility of the elastic memory composite antenna boom concept through a comprehensive design, analysis, and prototyping effort</li><li>Design and build a prototype metalized elastic memory composite antenna boom</li><li>Design and build a prototype elastic memory composite boom deployer</li><li>Perform deployment testing of a breadboard prototype at the end of Phase I</li> </ul>