RSN : Deployable support structures for space applications
‘Deployable support structures for space applications’ is an R&D project whose chief aim is to introduce to the company’s portfolio a set of innovative services comprising the design, manufacturing, and testing of deployable support structures with increased load capacity and greater range, while maintaining as low a weight and size as possible.  

Over the course of this activity Astronika intends to develop a set of services which will enable the company to provide its customers with a broad range of deployable support structures (Polish: Rozwijane Struktury Nośne – RSN) with a wide variety of potential uses in diverse space missions and applications, e.g., as part of antenna systems, support structures for flexible solar arrays, solar sails and de-orbiting sails, planetary and orbital booms for sensors and instruments, or manipulators for scientific research missions, etc.  

Within the scope of this project, Astronika aims to develop:  

  • The technology for manufacturing RSN with a length of at least 4 meters, of at least 4 m  in length, 
  • RSN measuring at least 4 m in length with a static load capacity of at least 0,1 kg in simulated 0g, 
  • A deployment mechanism that will achieve a precision of the extended tip of the RSN no worse than +/-1 cm per each 1m of the RSN length under an axial load, 
  • A workstation for testing the RSN in simulated 0g in laboratory conditions, with controlled cleanliness, temperature, and humidity.  

The Project is co-financed by the European Union through the European Funds for Smart Economy. The funding for the project was awarded as a result of the ‘Ścieżka Smart’ call for proposals, and the activity is carried out under the supervision of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP S.A.).  

Total cost: 6 726 053,21 PLN 

EU funding: 4 782 836,53 PLN 

Polish title: “Rozwijane Struktury Nośne do zastosowań kosmicznych.”