The Deployer Project

The purpose of this project is to specifically test light-sail deployer designs to find out which one is most optimal. One of the deployer designs we are testing utilizes a single door deployer, very similar to Alpha CubeSat’s design.

The project aims to compare the single-door design to a new design that has two doors. The goal is to see if the torques created from each door when swinging open will cancel out. This was proposed to reduce any unwanted rotation that the single door model may experience as the door swings open in microgravity.

deployer picture

The Sail is Released...

...via burn wires that are attached to a spring-latch that holds the compartment door closed.When the deployer receives the signal to initiate deployment, the burn wires are cut, releasing the sail. The team conducted numerous tests to refine the design and understand the constraints of light-sail deployment better.

deployer picture

TESTING: Sail force and pin force removal

The doors to the deployers need to start off fastened, achieved by a pin holding the doors shut. In order for the sail to successfully deploy, it needs to be able to push the doors open with enough force to remove the pin. This minimum, dubbed the pin force removal, was an important step to refining the deployment designs and determining what was possible. By testing the force that the light-sail was capable of exerting on the doors, or the sail force, the team could ensure that the deployment would even happen.

TESTING: Vibration

The deployment system was subjected to rigorous vibration testing as well to guarantee that the sail wouldn’t deploy prematurely if experiencing intense vibrations. This also ensured that there weren’t any other wear-related issues that could be caused by unforeseen scraping between parts.

TESTING: Deployment

The team also recorded the number of successful deployments with different sail orientations. This ensured that the orientation wasn’t interfering with the deployment in any way.