Composite Rolled Magnetometer and Instrument Boom

Magnetometers are the most common instrument flown on NASA science missions and interference from onboard electronics requires that these instruments be deployed away from the spacecraft. Particle sensors and electric field sensors can have similar requirements creating a significant need for deployable booms. Currently, these booms are usually custom designed for each spacecraft, resulting in wasted development costs through repetition. The Composite Rolled Magnetometer and Instrument Boom (CROMIB) will be a highly capable, standardized boom for field instruments that can be scaled from 2m long to 12m long. CROMIB is a slit-tube rolled boom that will deploy using strain energy to simplify the storage canister and eliminate the motor and motor electronics. Rolling the boom provides a highly compact stowed volume. Recurring cost will be roughly 1/3 of the cost for custom designing a segmented deployable boom. CROMIB builds upon the composite boom experience gained from rolled solar arrays.

Magnetometers and field sensors also have potential commercial applications. To date, Earth survey using magnetometers for commercial purposes has utilized NASA sensors, however. Commercial dedicated surveys have relied on magnetometers flown on aircraft to study small areas in detail. However, there would be commercial value in higher resolution, more sensitive magnetometry data available on a worldwide basis. This data may be commercially enabled as an additional function of commercial imaging satellites by a low cost magnetometer boom. In addition, military and commercial satellites could use gravity gradient booms, solar arrays, phased arrays, and solar sails based on this technology.

Compact, mass efficient and cost effective composite booms are needed to deploy magnetometers for Earth observation satellites, magnetometers for planetary probes, and electric field sensors. Literally hundreds of magnetometer booms have been designed and flown since the dawn of the space age. Despite the common need for non-metallic booms, a convenient and simple standard deployable boom has not emerged as a competitive solution. In addition, a simple canisterized boom could be used for gravity gradient booms for small spacecraft, and for deploying solar sails. With adaptations for higher torque output, a self-deployed composite boom could also be used to support solar arrays and phased array antennas. Finally, the design could be adapted to deploy a large drag sail to reduce the deorbit time of medium and large satellites in higher LEO orbits at the end of mission life to meet NASA requirements for reduction of orbital debris.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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