Composite Spacecraft Structures and Booms
CTD (Composite Technology Development)
Composite Technology Development's (CTD) carbon fiber reinforced polymer spacecraft booms, solar array substrates, antenna reflectors, and precision space structures.
Typed specifications1 values
Discloses 0 of 11 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 1).
- Material (as printed)
- CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer), graphite/cyanate ester, M55J/RS-3 product page
Each value is typed with its unit and measurement condition and cites the datasheet page it was taken from. Nothing is guessed: a field that is absent here has not been published by the manufacturer. machine-extracted ✓ checked by NewSpace Market ✓ manufacturer confirmed by the manufacturer.
As published by the supplier6 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Products
- Composite booms, solar array substrates, antenna reflectors, structural panels
- Boom types
- Deployed by spring (bistable) or motorized; self-deploying shape-memory variants
- Material
- CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer), graphite/cyanate ester, M55J/RS-3
- Cte
- Near-zero CTE achievable for dimensionally stable optical structures
- Customers
- JPL, NASA Goddard, commercial satellite OEMs
- HQ
- Boulder, Colorado, USA (founded 1993)
About
Composite Technology Development (CTD) is a Boulder, Colorado-based company specializing in high-performance composite structures for space — including deployable booms, precision antenna reflectors, solar array substrates, and structural panels for satellite primary structures. CTD was founded in 1993 and focuses on applying advanced polymer matrix composites to the unique demands of the space environment.
CTD’s deployable composite booms are used for deploying solar arrays, magnetometers, and antennas at controlled distances from the satellite bus to avoid electromagnetic interference. Carbon fiber booms with extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) maintain dimensional stability across the wide temperature cycles experienced in LEO orbit. CTD’s bistable composites (thermally deployable using shape-memory polymers) enable very compact stowage with reliable self-deploying extension.
CTD also makes ultra-lightweight carbon fiber honeycomb sandwich panels for satellite equipment decks and structural walls, achieving high stiffness-to-mass ratios that minimize launch mass. The company has been a frequent supplier to JPL, NASA Goddard, and commercial satellite manufacturers. CTD also develops radiation-resistant polymer matrix materials for the GEO belt environment and manufactures antenna dish reflectors and solar concentrator substrates requiring optical-grade surface finish.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.