Material-actuated launch and recovery doors

A material-actuated door control system comprising:

• a material-actuated door;
• at least one Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator embedded in the material-actuated door, the at least one SMA actuator elastically biased in a first physical actuator state and configured to transition into a second physical actuator state different from the first physical actuator state in response to receiving electrical current;
• a power supply in signal communication with the at least one SMA actuator, and configured to output the electrical current;
• and
• a controller in signal communication with the power supply, the controller configured to receive a first input requesting the first door position and a second input requesting the second door position, and to activate or deactivate the power supply based on the first input and the second input,
• wherein the material-actuated door is induced into a first door position, in response to disconnecting the power supply so as to disconnect the electrical current from the SMA actuator and is induced into a second door position different form the first door position in response to activating the power supply and delivering the electrical current to the at least one SMA actuator, and
• wherein the material-actuated door includes a first array of SMA actuators defining a first panel of the door and a second array of SMA actuators defining a second panel of the door, wherein the first array of SMA actuators is configured to induce the first door position of the first panel and wherein the second array of SMA actuators is configured to induce the second door position with respect to the first panel.