Surface accuracy measurement and analysis of an inflatable antenna by photogrammetry

Inflatable space antenna has advantages of small folding volume, light weight, launch low cost and so on, so it becomes one of the most potential technologies for large aperture space antenna in the future. To get the inflatable antenna with high accuracy reflector, the measurement and analysis of reflector's accuracy are necessary. In the paper, a 3m aperture inflatable reflector, which is made of polyimide membrane, is measured using digital photogrammetry, and its accuracy at different internal pressures are analyzed. The results show that that inflatable reflector's accuracy is affected by its internal pressure and the main errors are around the center of the reflector.