Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.

William D Wade

Matthew Phillip Casebolt

William Martin Ribble

Arnold Friedman

A method for sewing a plurality of gore-shaped metalized mesh fabric panels to each other to form a parabolic dish-shaped reflector surface for subsequent attachment to the radially extendable rib members of a deployable parabolic reflector. The method includes using a template having 'cut' and 'sew' lines indicated thereon for cutting out a desired number of gore-shaped panels from a bolt of metalized mesh fabric and sewing the panels together along adjacent side edges thereof to form the dish-shaped reflector surface. The dish-shaped reflector surface is then attached to the reflector by sewing the mesh fabric panels to stitch holes provided in each rib member. The reflector surface is accurized by using a wedge-shaped tool which is placed on a slack reflector panel adjacent a gore seam. A cord is then laced thereover along its length, after which the tool is removed, and the two ends of the cord are pulled tight thereby forming a tuck seam in the reflector panel which takes up slack in the reflector surface. A novel metalized mesh fabric construction is also disclosed and includes silver coated nylon strands and denier dacron strands interwoven in a 'Marquisette' or 'Leno' style weave. The weave has openings sized sufficiently large to minimizing the effects of wind load yet sufficiently small to provide good reflective performance of radio frequencies up to and including X-Band frequencies.

Method for accurizing mesh fabric reflector panels of a deployable

A redeployable, furlable rib reflector which is furlable and unfurlable between a first stowed position and a second deployed position. The reflector includes a hub assembly having spaced apart top and bottom plate members adapted to receive an antenna feed assembly mounted thereon and a plurality of attachable modular rib assemblies spaced about a periphery thereof. Each modular rib assembly includes a rib member for supporting a metalized mesh reflector surface attached thereto, a channel section base member, and a hinge assembly for pivotally connecting the rib members to their respective channel section base members. The channel section base members, in turn, are attachable between the top and bottom plate members of the hub assembly and also form a portion of the peripheral wall of the hub assembly. The invention further includes a manually actuable rib furling apparatus which includes an annular ring assembly rotatably mounted to the hub and a plurality of rib furling elements extended therefrom and interposed between selected adjacent pairs of rib members. The annular ring assembly also includes handles to facilitate rotation of the annular ring assembly in order to bring the rib furling elements into contact with the ribs for furling or unfurling about the hub.

Redeployable furlable rib reflector

A radio-frequency reflective surface is made of a fabric woven from a yarn having an effective coefficient of thermal expansion of substantially zero over a useful temperature range. The yarn comprises a metallic filament around which non-metallic rovings are wound. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the filament and the roving material are related to each other so that mechanical strain thermally induced in the filament by changes in temperature is counteracted by mechanical strain theremally induced in the rovings. Intermodulation products at yarn intersections of the fabric are substantially zero.

Radio-frequency reflective fabric

A radio-frequency reflective surface is made of a fabric woven from a yarn having an effective coefficient of thermal expansion of substantially zero over a useful temperature range. The yarn comprises a metallic filament around which non-metallic rovings are wound. The coefficients of thermal expansion of the filament and the roving material are related to each other so that mechanical strain thermally induced in the filament by changes in temperature is counteracted by mechanical strain thermally induced in the rovings. Intermodulation products at yarn intersections of the fabric are substantially zero.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

William D Wade