The design and development of the Polar Platform primary development boom

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The design and development of the Polar Platform primary development boom

Reid, B.A.

As part of the ESA Polar Platform programme, British Aerospace provides a primary deployment mechanism (PDM) for the Solar Array. The PDM includes novel mechanisms to provide the deployment and a boom structure to support the solar array at a distance of approximately 3 metres from the spacecraft. The boom, which has been designed, is an ultrahigh modulus CFRP, lightweight filament wound structure with adhesively bonded titanium alloy end fittings and is made in two sections. The use of a product specific qualification approach supported by a focused development programme has resulted in successful flight hardware manufacture in a short timescale and at minimum cost. Filament winding of the tube elements is significant to the design and development philosophy allowing the incremental introduction of new fibres or resins in an evolutionary way. The success of this evolutionary approach and product specific qualification has been demonstrated by the PDM Boom programme. It has successfully built on previous experience in the areas of material selection, composite design, qualification methodology and CFRP production technology to meet and exceed the specification requirements in a cost effective and schedule efficient manner.