SPACE VEHICLE RADAR AERIAL Russian patent published in 1996 - IPC

FIELD: space engineering; space vehicles engaged in remote earth grounding and transmission of information in real time scale. SUBSTANCE: radar aerial is mounted on space vehicle under droppable fairing. It consists of load-bearing frame with doors fitted on it. Doors are folded by wrap-around arrangement and are held in transport position by means of springs and pyromechanisms. Radar aerial has central door articulated with other doors and provided with pantograph whose one extremity is articulated on casing of space vehicle and engageable with drive which ensures turn of pantograph around axis of hinge attachment; other extremity is articulated to one end of strut hinged on load-bearing frame and provided with drive for turn of load-bearing frame about axis of strut hinge. Load-bearing frame is secured on above- mentioned central door. After dropping of fairing and operation of separation charges, stacks of doors are separated from casing of space vehicle. Pantograph is turned by means of drive and strut turns together with it; as a result, frame with stacks of doors moves in flat and parallel plane to intermediate position fixed by lock of strut. Linkage between doors will be broken by commands sent to main and doubling pyroknives and radar aerial will open to working (flat) configuration. Turn of radar aerial to preset position relative to space vehicle casing will be effected by means of additional drive mounted on strut. EFFECT: enhanced reliability. 4 dwg