Design and motion analysis of a space-borne array antenna deployment mechanism

This paper describes a space-borne multi-folding expandable array antenna. The antenna can be unfolded from a folded state of 1 row, 2 columns and 8 layers to a $4 \times 4$ planar antenna. Firstly, the overall design and deployment scheme of the deployable array antenna are introduced; secondly, the deployment motion of the antenna is analyzed, and the speed and acceleration of the two deployment motions are determined; then the detailed design and analysis of the actuator of the deployment mechanism is carried out; finally, the development A set of principle prototype of deployable array antenna was built, and the deployment function test was carried out on the microgravity device. The test results show that the unfolding mechanism developed according to the design scheme has a gentle and smooth unfolding process, and can be locked smoothly after unfolding in place, which verifies the correctness and feasibility of the design. The proposed structure mechanism and design and analysis methods of the deployable array antenna can provide a reference for the design and research of other types of deployable antennas.