Large membrane space structure and method for its deployment and expansion

摘要

A large membrane space structure deployed and spanned by centrifugal force owing to the spin motion, contains a hub (2) located at a central portion thereof and a sail (4) including a plurality of petals (6) attached to the hub (2) by supports (8). Each of the petals has regions symmetrical to an imaginary center line (OX) passing through the center of the hub (2). Membranes are spanned on the regions. Each of the membranes is divided into parts of suitable shapes, and adjacent membranes are discretely connected to each other by bridge belts (10) to suppress the residual crease strain. The petals (6) are symmetric with respect to the center of the hub (2). Deployment force is provided in the circumferential direction by the introduction of imaginary tension lines. The petals may be connected to each other to help deployment.