The present invention relates to a light baffle assembly including a base baffle member comprising a base wall portion positioned substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis, an upper baffle member comprising an upper wall portion coupled to an upper blade portion, the upper wall portion positioned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and the upper blade portion positioned to extend inwards from the upper wall portion towards the longitudinal axis, and a resilient member configured to extend the upper baffle member away from the base baffle member.

A tape drive comprises a roll of a tape that can be extended from a rolled state to an extended state. The tape includes a rigid material that supports the tape and a pliable material disposed at least partially on one side of the tape. A compression roller is disposed on a side of the tape and is biased toward the tape. A drive roller is disposed on the other side of the tape. The drive roller comprises an uneven surface that mechanically engages the pliable material of the tape, without protruding through the tape, as a result of the bias of the compression roller forcing the tape toward the drive roller. A motor turns the drive roller to extend the tape from the roll as the protrusions of the uneven surface of the drive roller mechanically engage the pliable material of the tape as the drive roller turns.

The invention relates to a gear assembly (10) for use in a space craft for control of a moveable component thereof. The assembly comprises a load gear (11) in engagement with a drive gear (12) and an auxiliary gear (13). The drive gear (12) is coupled to a drive motor (14) so as to drive the load gear (11) in a first rotational direction. The auxiliary gear (13) is coupled to a retardation device (15) that is configured to passively resist the load gear (11) from rotating in the first rotational direction.

In a method for packing a spacecraft membrane (1) which in a plane of extension comprises a longitudinal axis between opposite longitudinal corners (4) and a transverse axis running transverse to the longitudinal axis and through transverse corners into a spacecraft membrane package, two packing steps are executed: In a first packing step, the spacecraft membrane (1) is packed into a transverse package (9) along the transverse axis. In a second packing step, the transverse package (9) is packed into a longitudinal package along a longitudinal axis. The packing of the spacecraft membrane (1) in the first packing step comprises a packing of material of the spacecraft membrane (1) from or on both sides of the longitudinal axis. In the first packing step, the spacecraft membrane (1) is packed in such a way that in the created transverse package (9) the transverse corners are freely accessible. In the second packing step, the transverse package (9) is packed in such a way that in the created longitudinal package the longitudinal corners (4) are freely accessible. The longitudinal package is unpacked by pulling on the longitudinal corners (4). Subsequently, the transverse package (9) is unpacked by pulling on the transverse corners.

A pushing-out apparatus for an extendible mast includes a mast storing unit, a mast pushing-out unit and a mast pushing-out driving unit. The storing unit stores an extendible mast including stages of foldable trusses in a state that the stages are folded. The pushing-out unit is stored in the storing unit around the stage-folded mast stored in the storing unit. The driving unit moves the pushing-out unit to a projecting position in an outside of the storing unit while the stages of the mast are folded, sequentially extend out the folded stages of the mast stored in the storing unit by the pushing-out unit from the storing unit and push out the extended stages from the pushing-out unit of the projecting position in a side of the pushing-out unit opposing to the storing unit.

An occulter petal unfurling system including occulter petal unfurler disposed to rotate in relation to an occulter to unfurl a plurality of petals which in an unfurled condition can be used to block or suppress incoming light.

A solar panel assembly for a spacecraft includes a bracket and first and second booms each having a first end secured to the bracket and a second end extending away from the bracket. Each boom is formed from a plurality of tubes that telescope between a stowed condition nested within one another and a deployed condition aligned end-to-end with one another. A solar panel is secured to the first and second booms for receiving solar energy and converting the solar energy to electrical power. The solar panel has a stowed condition collapsed between the first and second booms and a deployed condition extending in a plane between the first and second booms.

The present disclosure provides, among other things, a deployable solar array comprising: an array of electromagnetic transducer devices such as photovoltaic devices; and a flexible, elongated, rectangular sheet for supporting the array of electromagnetic transducer devices composed of a composite laminate having a predetermined pattern of graphite fiber plies which impart a predefined tension in the planar surface of the sheet so that it curls into a planar sheet with a uniform radius of curvature along its major axis.

The present disclosure relates to a mechanism for releasably securing components of a spacecraft together during launch until such time as the mechanism is commanded to release those components. Upon command, the components are then released with extremely low shock forces being transmitted to the previously secured components due to the release.

A method to control a sunlight acquisition phase of a spacecraft with a nonzero angular momentum of an axis D.sub.H. The spacecraft includes a solar generator configured to rotate about an axis Y. The spacecraft actuators are controlled to place the spacecraft in an intermediate orientation in which the axis Y is substantially orthogonal to the axis D.sub.H. The solar generator is controlled to orientate the solar generator towards the sun. The spacecraft actuators are controlled to reduce the angular momentum of the spacecraft. The actuators of the spacecraft engine are controlled to place the spacecraft in an acquisition orientation in which the axis Y is substantially orthogonal to the direction of the sun with respect to the spacecraft.