24-10-2012, 02:17 PM
Optical Diagnostic System for Solar Sails: Phase 1 Final Report
ABSTRACT
NASA’s In-Space Propulsion program recently selected AEC-ABLE Engineering and L’Garde, Inc. to develop
scale-model solar sail hardware and demonstrate its functionality on the ground. Both are square sail designs with lightweight
diagonal booms (\h100 g/m) and ultra-thin membranes (\h10 g/sq m). To support this technology, the authors are developing
an integrated diagnostics instrumentation package for monitoring solar sail structures such as these in a near-term flight
experiment. We refer to this activity as the ‘Optical Diagnostic System (ODS) for Solar Sails’ project. The approach uses
lightweight optics and photogrammetric techniques to measure solar sail membrane and boom shape and dynamics,
thermography to map temperature, and non-optical sensors including MEMS accelerometers and load cells. The diagnostics
package must measure key structural characteristics including deployment dynamics, sail support tension, boom and sail
deflection, boom and sail natural frequencies, sail temperature, and sail integrity. This report summarizes work in the initial
6-month Phase I period (conceptual design phase) and complements the final presentation given in Huntsville, AL on January
14, 2004.
ABSTRACT
NASA’s In-Space Propulsion program recently selected AEC-ABLE Engineering and L’Garde, Inc. to develop
scale-model solar sail hardware and demonstrate its functionality on the ground. Both are square sail designs with lightweight
diagonal booms (\h100 g/m) and ultra-thin membranes (\h10 g/sq m). To support this technology, the authors are developing
an integrated diagnostics instrumentation package for monitoring solar sail structures such as these in a near-term flight
experiment. We refer to this activity as the ‘Optical Diagnostic System (ODS) for Solar Sails’ project. The approach uses
lightweight optics and photogrammetric techniques to measure solar sail membrane and boom shape and dynamics,
thermography to map temperature, and non-optical sensors including MEMS accelerometers and load cells. The diagnostics
package must measure key structural characteristics including deployment dynamics, sail support tension, boom and sail
deflection, boom and sail natural frequencies, sail temperature, and sail integrity. This report summarizes work in the initial
6-month Phase I period (conceptual design phase) and complements the final presentation given in Huntsville, AL on January
14, 2004.