Design and experiment for a high precision reflector

Large deployable mesh reflectors for space applications have continuously been developed in the past several decades. A well-designed cable web configuration is essential to the performance of a deployable mesh reflector. To meet the requirements of high precision and uniform distribution of tension forces, this paper proposes a new approach to design the cable web for elliptical ring truss reflectors based on the pseudo-geodesic method. An offset parabolic reflector is used as an example to further discuss and compare different design approaches. Moreover, an optimization method is introduced to systematically determine an initial profile and tension forces for the reflector. The results illustrate that tension forces using the approach developed by this study are more uniform than that using the traditional method. Finally, a prototype is made to test according to design and analysis. By photogrammetry, the surface precision is less than 0.5mm (RMS). The tension level is better than analysis result. The thermal deformation is less than 0.05mm (RMS) for 40 temperature change, which is measured by photogrammetry.