The Phase I and Phase II efforts of this SBIR program resulted in the development of a new deployment system that can be scaled to meet the needs of a large range of spacecraft platforms. The mechanism vertically deploys a thin film array from a cylindrical spool and has a secondary mechanism that will expand the thin film array horizontally. Thus far, the technology has been developed to provide a mechanism for both deployment and retraction of a thin film solar array on the lunar surface. This SBIR developed deployment system can be simplified to provide only deployment from the cylindrical spool for a variety of spacecraft sizes. The lunar array deployment system developed during Phase I-II of this SBIR program has been identified for use in a new cutting-edge space program. The Lightweight Deployable Integrable Antenna (LiDIA) is a lightweight, low mass, low stowage volume deployable antenna under development by NASA MSFC. This system is extensible to antenna arrays compatible with large solar sails or thin film photovoltaic arrays. It is realized by using thin film materials, fabrication techniques, and support structures to create a patch antenna that uses optimal free space as the dielectric, stows “flat” with no dielectric spacing, and self deploys to the proper separation between the patch and ground plane for the desired radio frequency (RF) propagation. LiDIA will use a scaled version of the lunar array deployment system to provide deployment for the patch array antenna from a CubeSat. Significant research will be required to adapt and incorporate the lunar array deployment system for use on the LiDIA program. NeXolve is currently seeking SBIR Phase II extended funding to further develop and adapt the lunar array deployment system for this application. Investment funds from a NASA program have been identified for use as matching funds to support this research and promote implementation of this SBIR developed technology to further its commercialization.

This Phase II-E research is directly applicable to NASA’s LiDIA program. This development effort will benefit all NASA missions that require low mass, low volume communications solutions. Specific examples of NASA applications include: Solar Cruiser mission Europa Clipper mission New Moon Explorer mission Artemis program Solar Polar Imager – SPI solar sail

The system developed as part of this Phase II-E research is relevant to any non-NASA applications that will require a communication antenna. Examples include: Starlink from SpaceX OneWeb Constellation from OneWeb Project Kuiper Constellation from Amazon Synthetic Apertures from Capella Space