Rollable-Retractable Mast Array (R-ROMA)

NASA’s Moon to Mars campaign will require several high-power solar arrays to supply sustainable surface power on the Moon and Mars in addition to SEP spacecraft critical for the Artemis missions and further Mars missions. These systems must be extremely dust tolerant, retractable, reusable and repurposabiliy for both Lunar, Martian, and deep space SEP applications. To meet NASA’s demands for deployable and retractable high-power solar arrays Opterus proposes the Rollable-Retractable Mast Array (R-ROMA). R-ROMA is the first of its kind H-configuration deployable-retractable blanket solar array structure utilizing a single High Strain Composite (HSC), closed lenticular cross section rollable mast. Opterus’ R-ROMA technology can be applied either as a stand-alone solar electric power system or an innovation of current state of the art H-configuration blanket array structures. R-ROMA is an exceptionally high-performance array structure leveraging the most recent structural innovations in HSC boom design and manufacture. R-ROMA is revolutionary in being the first HSC structure capable of sustaining high axial, bending, and torsional loads while retaining the low cost, low mass, low volume, fully retractable, dust tolerant benefits of HSC’s. Increased structural performance along with novel packaging and deployment methods also increases dust tolerance of the system through raising critical mechanisms to the top of the array, out of the dust zone surrounding Lunar and Martian surfaces.

NASA’s Moon to Mars program will require numerous high-power solar arrays for powering landers, ISRU equipment, lunar bases, rovers and Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). R-ROMA provides a critical structural innovation, novel packaging and deployment, exceptional dust resistance and retractability critical for the Moon to Mars mission. R-ROMA is also the ideal low cost/high power solar array for Lunar and Martian surface infrastructure and SEP of orbiters, Asteroid redirect, and other types of research spacecraft.

The size of global space economy was sized at $344.5 billion, with the non-satellite industry comprising $84 billion of that total. Pertinent to the opportunities for this technology, the primary target market segments, which include US Government, particularly NASA and its prime contractors, are growing market segments.

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