An Outrigger Component for a Deployable Occulter System

Roccor, LLC, propose the development of a highly novel and structurally efficient outrigger strut design feature that efficiently integrates with a large deployable starshade or, occulter, currently under development by NASA-JPL. The starshade acts as an external occulter to suppress the incoming starlight sufficiently for detecting and characterizing exoplanets. Key to the performance of the occulter is achieving sufficiently high out-of-plane stiffness to withstand maneuvering loads as well as meet the shape-tolerance requirement. Roccor's proposed effort utilizes a highly novel deployable outrigger system that seamlessly integrates into the current deployable occulter design. Further, Roccor's approach leverages our considerable background in elastically stowed and deployed composite structures.