A deployable space web is a flexible structure that can act as a lightweight platform for construction of large structures in space. In order to save space and energy for small deployable structures, a one-step deployment method was a possible choice for future web deployment without complicated extending mechanisms. The aim of the Suaineadh experiment was to deploy and stabilize a space web by centrifugal forces and act as a test bed of the one-step deployment. Suaineadh, a 2 × 2 m~2 space web, was ejected from the nose cone of REXUS-12 sounding rocket and deployed in a micro-gravity environment. A developed control law and a reaction wheel were used to control the deployment. Results from ground tests, simulations and former sounding rocket experiments were used to design the structure, folding pattern, control parameters and the deployment. During the experiment, the web was deployed but entanglements occurred since the web did not start to deploy at the specified proper initial angular velocity. It might be due to the broken inertial measurement unit which failed to detect the required spin rate of the hub or other unknown problems. The deployment dynamics was reconstructed from the information recorded by inertial measurement units and cameras. Simulations show that if the Suaineadh space web started to deploy at the specified proper angular velocity, the web would most likely have been deployed and stabilized in space by the motor, reaction wheel and controller used in the experiment. In actual flight, out-of-plane motions were observed both in deployment and stabilization phases. In order to stabilize the out-of-plane motions and reduce the risk of entanglement observed from experiment, simulation results show that small reaction wheels could be used before or during web deployment. Tape springs could also be used as web arms to avoid entanglement.
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