Additive Manufacturing applied to Origami Deployment Mechanisms for Small Satellites

Small satellites, particularly CubeSats, are characterised by reduced weight and size. On the one hand, these characteristics are essential to reducing mission costs, as they significantly reduce the launch mass; on the other hand, they impose significant constraints in the mechanical design of crucial systems (e.g. solar panels, antennas, deorbiting mechanisms, and attitude and orbital system actuators) and thereby limit the performance of the satellite. One way to overcome these constraints is to use deployable mechanisms using origami techniques, which have been demonstrated to be one of the best solutions to optimise the use of the space available. However, traditional manufacturing does not allow one to fully exploit the capabilities of origami-inspired structures.

This project would entail the development and fabrication of novel origami-inspired deployment mechanisms for small satellites using additive manufacturing as the key enabling technology. The key challenges of the project are related to the design approach, to the requirements of the materials used (adopted materials must be able to withstand launch stresses and survive within the space environment), and the versatility of the solutions adopted. The results achieved would be of great interest to the growing small satellite market, in particular for future CubeSat missions and applications.