Shape control of the tension truss antenna

Abstract

The tension truss antenna is a deployable mesh surface antenna featuring a cable network, called a tension truss, that gives a parabolic shape to the reflective mesh. Cables in the tension truss are rigid enough to prevent their elongation due to the tension, and the number of nodes and cables satisfies the statically determinant condition. In this paper, surface sensitivity to magnitude and direction errors of the applied force, which gives the tensile force to the tension truss, is evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation