Experimental Model and Operation Control Method of Morphable Beam Device

Paper number

IAC-08.C2.5.10

Author

Mr. Yoshiyuki Miura, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Coauthor

Prof. Saburo Matunaga, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Year

2008

Abstract

In case that a satellite has a trouble on orbit, house keeping data of internal equipments such as the current and voltage are the key information for the failure analysis and investigation. When the satellite’s body or the solar panel is damaged by some debris, determination of the cause and the failure place is not so easy. To inspect the failure place, robotic arms with articulated joints can be used. But the conventional robotic arm system tends to become large in volume and mass, and it is difficult to install them in small satellites.
 
The authors has proposed a new camera inspection system aiming at installation on small satellite: “Morphable Beam Device” or MBD, which has flexible “arm” with no actuator on the beam itself and the shape is given to this flexible beam as it is deployed, enabling a wide range of shapes and lengths. The actuators are located on the spacecraft itself, where they push the beam out and give it his shape. We can divide the mechanism on the spacecraft in three distinct sub-mechanisms: the shaper part, which bends the beam to give it the actual shape, the deployment part which pushes the stored beam from its storage part, through the shaper and to the outside of the spacecraft and the storage part which stores the beam in the spacecraft.
 
To demonstrate this concept, a hardware test model has been developed, and basic experiments had been conducted. And a constant curvature bending algorithm as a beam shape generation was proposed and validated by the test model. But the beam length was short, and the size was relatively large. Thus, a new experimental model was developed which is able to store longer beam (say 5 m) and to reduce the size and mass. In addition to the constant curvature bending algorithm, a sequential constant curvature bending algorithm was proposed and demonstrated. 
 
In this paper, development of MBD experimental model and the control method of its operation are described.

Abstract document

IAC-08.C2.5.10.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.C2.5.10.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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