The Astrix Inflatable Deployment System provides a highly efficient and mass-effective solution for deploying large surface areas in space, enabling applications like solar arrays, radiators, and antennas.
Astrix Inflatable Deployment System
The Astrix Inflatable Deployment System provides a highly efficient and mass-effective solution for deploying large surface areas in space, enabling applications like solar arrays, radiators, and antennas.
Description
The Astrix Inflatable Deployment System offers a novel approach to deploying large surface areas in space. It is designed for simplicity, low mass, and deployment from a very small folded size. This technology provides a platform for multiple products including solar arrays, radiators, antennas, drag sails, and heat shields. The inflation and rigidization process is stated to be 20 times more space-efficient and 4 times more mass-efficient compared to traditional methods. This system also addresses the drawbacks of silicon solar cells, enabling powerful and affordable solar arrays with a robust supply chain, achieving excellent $/W and mass-per-watt ratios. The technology has flight heritage, and it drastically increases the deployable area on spacecraft, providing 20 times the surface area with decreased mass. This increased deployable area effectively compensates for the decreased efficiency of silicon solar cells, making Astrix’s inflatable solar array with silicon solar cells powerful, affordable, and less reliant on triple junction cells.
Specifications
| Deployment efficiency (space) | 20x more space efficient |
|---|---|
| Deployment efficiency (mass) | 4x more mass efficient |
| Deployable area increase | 20x |
| Solar array power (Copia) | up to 300 watt/kg |
| Flight heritage | Yes |