Development and in-orbit verification of the coilable mast mechanism of APSCO SSS-1 satellite

The coilable mast mechanism is an important experimental payload of the APSCO SSS-1 satellite. The mechanism consists of a two-meter coilable mast and a set of deployment supporting equipment. The coilable mast makes use of gravitational gradients to form a stable configuration for the satellite. The supporting equipment is used to realize the normal deployment of the coilable mast and record the deployment process. To verify the function and performance of the coilable mast mechanism of the APSCO SSS-1 satellite, the design, development and verification are discussed in detail in this paper. First of all, the structure and design of the mechanism are introduced; and then, the numerical simulation and ground test of the coilable mast mechanism are carried out. Finally, the in-orbit deployment verification of the coilable mast is analyzed. The satellite telemetry data proved that the coilable mast mechanism was successfully deployed in orbit.