Planar non-compressible rigidizable chain assembly

An assembly, comprising:

• multiple support elements aligned along a reference plane, the support elements having at least one projecting member extending outwardly away from each support element, the support elements defining:
• a receiving cavity within each support element;
• and
• a first passageway through the multiple support elements;
• wherein the projecting member of at least one of the multiple support elements is received by the receiving cavity of at least one other of the multiple support elements;
• a retention system including a first retention member and an actuator engaged with the first retention member, wherein the first retention member extends longitudinally and passes through the first passageways in the support elements, wherein the actuator is configured to apply tension to the first retention member to bias the multiple support elements towards each other to retain the projecting member of one support element in the corresponding cavity of a neighboring support element, wherein the actuator is positioned on an opposite side of the first structure relative to the multiple support elements;
• wherein the support elements are substantially prevented from moving or rotating out of the reference plane when the retention system is actuated by virtue of the positioning of the projecting members within the receiving cavities;
• wherein the multiple support elements are positioned in a space between a first and second support structure;
• wherein the first passageway extends through the support elements and passes through the projecting member of at least two support elements;
• and
• wherein the first retention member is coupled to a load positioned outside the space between the first and second support structures.