578. Expandable Structures for Space Reentry Vehicles

Paper

Abstract

The material to be presented consist of a wide cross-section of unmanned and manned expandable structures programs which have been under development at Goodyear Aerospace. Many of these devices have demonstrated the feasibility of expandable structure through ground test and environmental evaluation programs and are now in a developmental status which will permit serious consideration on future space flights. As an aid to orienting this review, it is convenient to categorize these programs into three general areas.
The first area is associated with manned applications where we are concerned with techniques of providing additional volume to enhance crew habitability requirements, in addition to those volumes currently available on manned spacecraft now under development. These structures are usually in a class that requires relatively high strength materials because we are concerned with pressure levels that are necessary to sustain life support systems.
The second category is associated with relatively large lightweight structures which suit the requirements for antennas, solar concentrators, and other similar device, which are not subjected to significant loads but must retain good dimensional accuracies to meet the desired performance requirements.
The third category of expandable structures that will be reviewed is associated with the reentry and recovery of space vehicles. In many instances these structures must satisfy the requirements for high strength and, depending on the regime of deployment, possibly high temperature. This field frequently involves the use of metallic fabric structures and special weaving and joining techniques.