PHANTOM: Precision High-Strain-Composites (HSCs) for AstroNomical Telescope OptoMechanics (PHANTOM)

The Precision High-Strain-Composites (HSCs) for AstroNomical Telescope OptoMechanics (PHANTOM) proposal intends to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of a deployable optical support structure technology that uses thin, flexible composite materials as mechanisms that replace traditional revolute hinges and latches to deploy from the stowed launch configuration to the on-orbit operational configuration. This work will raise the TRL from Level 3 to Level 5. Maturing this technology will involve designing, analyzing, and testing material specimens and an assembly brassboard for 1) dimensional stability of HSC materials and hinges over mission-relevant temperature ranges and 2) precision and long-term dimensional stability of a representative HSC hinge structure after it is deployed in a mission-relevant environment. To accomplish the two objectives described above, we will work through three phases: 1) model development, 2) material sample (breadboard) testing in a relevant environment and 3) deployable assembly (brassboard) testing in a relevant environment. In Phase 1 we will develop models to predict the behavior of thin composite materials that will provide the flexibility required to enable strain-driven deployment of the structure while also minimizing material dimensional sensitivity to temperature and creep through informed composite laminate and mechanical design. In Phase 2 we will design, build, and test samples of thin composite materials identified in Phase 1 to validate the analysis model and material selection. To support the material testing, we will build a precision thermal expansion measurement chamber to enable rapid testing of material samples. In Phase 3 we will use the materials validated in Phase 2 to build a sub-scale deployable structure brassboard to demonstrate thermal dimensional stability and post-deployment dimensional stability in a relevant environment. The thermal expansion measurement approach developed for sample testing in Phase 2 will be used to measure thermal expansion of the brassboard structure. The post-deployment precision measurements will use a precision deployment test approach developed under a previous program at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. PHANTOM provides a new way to precisely deploy optical elements for space telescopes that are too large to fit into a launch vehicle without folding. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) demonstrated a conventional way to unfold a telescope in space, namely using traditional revolute hinges and latches. The PHANTOM approach replaces the hinges, motors and latches with thin, flexible strain-driven composite mechanisms such that the entire structure supporting the optical elements can be made from continuous materials. This reduces the complexity in both assembly and actuation of the deployments, and can achieve 10X better initial deployment position accuracy than revolute hinges. This improvement in deployment position accuracy can significantly reduce metrology and correction complexity for aligning the telescope optical elements after deployment. If the PHANTOM technology can be matured, it could provide a simpler and lower risk to telescope deployment for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, the next great space observatory planned after JWST.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.