Textile-based deployable structures and robotic systems for aerospace applications

In this PhD dissertation, we delve into the innovative developments across advanced manufacturing, origami-inspired solar panels and robotics across space exploration landscape. The first chapter introduces FRET (Flexible Reinforced Electronics Textile), a technology enabler for deployable, origami-inspired aerospace systems. By combining rigid-flex PCB electronics and Nomex®, FRET addresses design challenges, providing robustness and resilience for reliable lightweight origami-inspired deployable structures. The research has been targeting manufacturing and testing of the FRET prototypes, where traction test have been performed to evaluate the quality of the FRET’s prototypes. Although the first results had shown room for improvement, especially on the bonding and the adhesive material selection, more work is on the way to validate material selection and bonding quality. Moving on, the second chapter presents SolarCube, an origami-inspired, lightweight solar panel designed for nanosatellites. Fueled by the innovative FRET technology, SolarCube achieves an exceptional stowed-to-deployed surface ratio, promising advancements in lightweight, efficient solar panels. At the time of writing, SolarCube is at TRL 4, and a fully functional prototype is expected by the summer of 2024. The third chapter focus on advancing the modelling of both FRET and SolarCube. For FRET modelling, the validation of key parameters in the PATRAN simulation environment involved a comparison with benchmark values derived from experimental traction tests on FRET samples. This validation process also incorporated a key performance index (KPI). Subsequently, the dynamic characteristics of SolarCube were explored by determining the first ten natural frequencies of the solar array, both in its closed and open configurations. The results revealed values within the anticipated range, aligning with the requirements specified in the user manual of the Ariane 5 spacecraft used as a reference. These analyses marked a significant advancement in modeling FRET, a challenging task given the limited prior studies on this technology. The forth chapter highlights the author contribution in the development of the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE), also known as the "Blue Box", used for testing the Sampling Caching System of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. This modular EGSE system, deployed in various venues, proved vital in identifying and resolving anomalies, providing valuable insights for future implementations and reinforcing its role in the Verification and Validation (V&V) campaign. The paper presents circuit design, lesson learned and troubleshooting activities. Finally, the fifth chapter discusses the research on autonomous robotics performed within the NASA-JPL Team CoSTAR achievements for the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, showcasing the NeBula autonomy solution. This uncertainty-aware framework has shown resilience and intelligent decision-making capabilities. NeBula's platform-agnostic components offer promising solutions for autonomous exploration in extreme environments, with ongoing efforts focused on future missions and applications beyond our planet. The author contribution in this research has been mainly on the hardware side, focusing on the development of the embedded electronics and software for the CoSTAR robots. Collectively, these papers contribute to the advancement of robotics technology, origami-inspired structures, and space exploration, showcasing innovations in manufacturing, deployable mechanisms, solar panels, testing equipment, and autonomy solutions. The future trajectory involves addressing challenges, refining designs, and pushing the boundaries of technology for practical applications in space exploration and robotics.