Analyses of cable-membrane structure combined with deployable truss

The authors have been developing a large deployable mesh reflector for advanced satellite communication. This large reflector consists of a mesh membrane surface and a deployable truss structure. In this paper, analysis methods for a large deployable mesh reflector structure are introduced, and the theoretical basis for the analysis is explained. By using those analysis methods, we manufactured prototype reflector modules and carried out an experiment on them. The validity of the analysis methods were verified from the results of the analyses and experiments. The design procedure of mesh reflector surface and the effect of the mesh surface tension on the truss deployment are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.