Developing technology to deploy stabilized solar arrays and enable spacecraft docking

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed technology to stiffen deployable structures on spacecraft, enabling autonomous spacecraft docking operations. SwRI is currently integrating the Parallelogram Synchronized Truss Assembly (PaSTA) technology with solar arrays on the Astroscale U.S. Refueler spacecraft. The team is also designing two different deployable booms using PaSTA technology for another spacecraft SwRI is developing.