MMA Advances Dynamic Modeling for Complex Antenna Systems

At 6 meters tall with a 7 meter aperture, MMA’s Meta Lens antenna in development for NASA’s Global L-band Active/Passive Observatory for Water Cycle Studies (GLOWS) mission is more than double the size of any other membrane deployable antenna MMA has flown to date. Additionally, once deployed, the entire antenna system spins on orbit at a rate of approximately 15 rpm.

What is the dynamic response of such a large, spinning structure?  Answering this question is essential to assuring mission success. Given the complexity and scale of this system, and objective of keeping cost to a minimum, ground-testing including full scale spin testing is not feasible. Instead, MMA Design is predicting the response of this system using advanced finite element analysis (FEA).

Modeling this system is non-trivial for multiple reasons. The thin-film membrane layers comprising the Meta Lens are inherently structurally unstable. The high-strain composite booms that support the lens are thin shell structures that must be carefully designed to be strong enough to adequately tension the lens. And finally, MMA Design’s connections between the tips of these booms and membrane layers require specialized elements capturing the unique kinematics of these features. Thus, MMA Design has advanced our FEA capabilities in order to model these very complex, large deployable systems for determining stiffness and 1st mode frequency.

For validating our GLOWS system models, MMA Design has built a series of scaled models, including a 1/6 scale prototype that spins, just like the full size antenna system. The response of the spinning scaled-down prototype is measured using our Vicon motion capture system and compared to MMA Design’s modeled response. Initial testing has demonstrated close correlation between these models and our test articles, validating the approach for full scale system modeling.

MMA Design’s experimentally measured thin film membrane out-of-plane displacement response (left) and FEA result (right).

For more information, check out MMA Design’s upcoming paper at AIAA SCITECH covering this effort entitled “Finite Element Model Correlation for Deployable High Strain Fiber Reinforced Composite Boom and Membrane Antenna System”.

1/6 scaled spinning GLOWS system test article and overhead VICON dynamic measurement system.

And learn more about the NASA GLOWS mission here.

#MMAgivesMORE at a Habitat for Humanity Build Day

The MMA team recently had a great day on an 8-home build in Longmont, Colorado for Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain. A group of 25 MMA team members spent the day working to complete construction on a townhome which needed roofing, new soffits and siding, windows installed and many other finishing touches. We had a blast measuring twice, cutting once, and working as a team for this worthy cause.

Check out photos from the day here.

Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain is dedicated to providing decent, affordable housing for low-income families in the St. Vrain Valley School District and Estes Park.

Let’s Connect in Logan @SmallSat #Conference2022!

Are you also headed to SmallSat in Logan Utah next month, August 8-11? It’s been way too long since we’ve been able to gather in person for this great conference, and  we are looking forward to connecting with you! You can sign up for a time to meet with the team by finding an open slot on our Sign Up Genius, or just walk over to TSC Booth 20!

On Tuesday, August 9 at 9:30 am during the technical session, our very own Mark Bailey is going to be presenting a paper on our GLOWS concept which packages a 6-meter aperture on a rideshare satellite. If you are interested in large RF apertures on small satellites, you won’t want to miss that.

All week, you can sign up for a chance to win one of a dozen awesome 18 oz Yeti Chug Jugs! Drop a business card or scan your badge for a chance to win.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Come see us @CalPoly SLO!

Will you be in San Louis Obispo next week for the CubeSat Developers Workshop? How about the following week for Interplanetary Small Satellite? If so, we would love to connect with you! MMA will have a table in the exhibit hall for both conferences. Susan and Colin from our team will be presenting our Low- to High-frequency 1-meter antennas for cubesats at CDW on Wednesday afternoon, 4/27, at 4:45 pm PT (5:45 pm MT). Don’t miss it! And, Eric and Susan will be soaking up all the amazing content at ISSC on May 2-3.

We may not be manning the exhibit table at all times — we’ll be busy taking in some of the other informative presentations as well — but send us a note at [email protected] if you would like to set aside some time to meet up.

Looking forward to seeing you in SLO!

Let’s Connect at #37Space in Colorado Springs!

We are really looking forward to kicking off the 37th Space Symposium tonight at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs! This conference is always a great opportunity to see old friends, meet new ones and check out all the exciting work happening, as well as share what’s new @MMA with you. We will be in Booth 432 of the Ball Aerospace Exhibit Center South Hall, so come by and say hello. You can sign up for a time to meet with the team by finding an open slot on our Sign Up Genius, or just walk over!

All week, we will be giving away T-shirts and you can sign up for a chance to win a super nice Yeti Tumbler! Drop a business card or scan your badge for a chance to win. We will be giving away several each day.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Join MMA Virtually at SmallSat August 9-12

SmallSat is one of our favorite events of the year! While we can’t be there in person again this year, we WILL be exhibiting virtually and can’t wait to “see” you! Join us from the comfort (and safety) of… where ever you are.

Each day, the team will be available to meet one-on-one (sign up here for a slot!), or grab lunch and join our “Ask an MMA Expert” from 12 pm to 1 pm. Bring all your burning questions and HUGE ideas!

On Tuesday 7/8 at 3 pm MDT, we will be presenting LIVE on one of our most exciting programs with our partners at BYU. Join us to learn about how we are developing a revolutionary antenna design  — the Global L-band Active/Passive Observatory for Water Cycle Studies, or GLOWS, antenna — that will deploy a very large aperture from a small satellite to enable earth science measurements that have previously been collected by a much larger, more costly mission. CLICK HERE to join on Tuesday.

Looking forward to “seeing” you!

Find more information about everything noted above here.

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Not going to the Space Symposium?

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