Articulated Composite Mast Used on NASA's Radar Topography Mission
WOBURN, MA (3/14/2000) - The astronauts aboard the recent $200 million shuttle mapping mission relied upon hundreds of components produced by a New England composites manufacturer. These lightweight precision parts helped to achieve the mission goal of mapping 80% of the Earth's surface to an unparalleled level of accuracy. The mission took close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's surface, mapping the Earth at the rate of 40,000 square miles every minute. This information will lead to better maps, improved water drainage modeling, more realistic flight simulators, better locations for cell phone towers, and enhanced navigation safety.
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed the mapping instrument using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR). An important part of the device is a 197-foot long deployable mast developed by AEC-Able Engineering Company. The articulated mast is folded like an accordion inside a canister. After the shuttle's payload bay doors open, the mast emerges from the canister and extends to its full length, the longest rigid structure ever flown in space.
The mast is made from lightweight graphite/epoxy composite rods produced by KaZaK Composites, Woburn, MA, using its pultrusion process. Hundreds of individual yarns of graphite fiber and epoxy resin are continuously pulled through a heated die to automatically produce rigid, dimensionally stable rods that form the critical structural elements of the mast. To meet mission accuracy needs, the composite rod's thermal expansion was controlled to a very high precision.
Founded in 1992, KaZaK Composites applies the benefits of composites to demanding engineering applications. Using pultrusion and other low-cost, automated fabrication processes, the company has designed and supplied cost-effective composite solutions for a broad range of military and commercial applications.