Edge-supported umbrella reflector with low stowage profile

An umbrella-like reflector assembly comprising:

• an actuable hub assembly;
• a main rib connected to said hub assembly by a hinge mechanism;
• a plurality of secondary ribs each connected to said hub assembly by a respective hinge mechanism;
• a mesh member attached to said main rib and said plurality of secondary ribs for providing a reflective surface;
• and
• a depolyment boom connecting said main rib of the reflector to a spacecraft, wherein said deployment boom is operable with said main rib to move the reflector between a collapsed and stowed configuration adjacent to the spacecraft and a deployed configuration away from the spacecraft;
• wherein activation of said hub assembly causes the reflector to move between said collapsed and deployed configurations.

A method of forming the surface of a mesh reflector having a hub assembly and a plurality of ribs, wherein the plurality or ribs have an inner and an outer portion, the method comprising the steps of:

• optically aligning the outer portions of each of said plurality of ribs;
• optically aligning the hub assembly and inner portions of each of the plurality of ribs;
• splicing the outer portions of each of the plurality of said ribs to the respective inner portions;
• installing a mesh member over said ribs;
• installing a network of tensioning chords to said mesh member;
• and
• attaching said mesh member to said ribs along radial attachment points on said ribs.