A SMART Lego system for Space Structures

Acellent Technologies proposes to develop a modular plug-and-play system for satellite panel pattern recognition and structural integrity determination. The SMART Lego system will be designed to meet the challenges of the plug-and-play structures program namely (1) Allow for efficient transfer of information between panels and components, (2) Manufacturing methods to efficiently embed additional functionality within the structural members and (3) Design a system for transmission of information between panels while allowing for geometric and configuration flexibility. The developed system will be extremely portable and will conform to structures of varied geometries and configurations. The development of the system will be based on Acellent’s SMART layer technology that utilizes a network of miniature sensors and actuators in order to determine the integrity of metal and composite structures in real-time. The system can be used to (1) detect whether two or more panels are connected in the right way, (2) determine if the right panels are connected together, (3) assess the structural integrity of the panels in real-time and (4) rapidly assess structural integrity of satellite panels and components prior to launch.