Distributed shape control of lightweight space reflector structure

Active control of surface figure is a key technology for the future lightweight large space reflectors. Less than several hundred actuators adjusting the surface shape could be still controlled by using a centralized computing element. If, however, there are thousands of actuators distributed in the surface, the actuator, control, and computing hardware should be distributed as well. This paper discusses how an efficient control of a gossamer structure shape can be achieved using large distributed actuator arrays. The controller is designed taking into account slow actuator dynamics and spatial response shape. Flexible dynamics are considered as an uncertainty. The closed-loop robustness is verified using mu-analysis. Integrating thousands of actuators in a structure in a practically affordable way requires mass producible lightweight actuators. Such plastic microelectromechanical (MEMS) actuators are described in the paper.