Lightweight, compactly deployable support structure with telescoping members

The antenna reflector comprising:

• a rigid, single member hoop structure having a plurality of rigid appendages extending outwardly therefrom and forming upwardly and downwardly extending struts that are arranged to maintain a prescribed structural periphery depth and radial distance from a centerline axis defined by said antenna reflector, wherein each upwardly extending strut comprises a single strut member wherein said struts comprise telescoping tube members;
• a plurality of pivot elements distributed within said hoop structure, and at interfaces of said hoop structure and said rigid appendages, and being configured to collapse and deploy said hoop structure such that said telescoping tube members are extended when deployed and telescopingly shortened when stowed to reduce the stowed length;
• and
• tensioned, flexible, generally inextensible cable members connected to said hoop structure and said rigid appendages.

A method of manufacturing a stowable and deployable energy director comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a stowable and deployable support structure to which an energy-directing surface is attachable, said support structure having a multi-sided foldable hoop having a plurality of foldable joints, and generally radial struts that extend from and are foldable about corner joints of said multi-sided hoop, wherein said struts are formed as telescoping tube members and at least one drive mechanism coupled to foldable joints of said multi-sided hoop, and being operative to unfold and deploy said multi-sided foldable hoop and extend said plurality of generally radial telescoping struts, and thereby said energy-directing surface from a folded, stowed configuration to an unfolded, deployed configuration;
• (b) providing a tensioning cord truss attachment framework for attaching an unfurlable energy-directing surface to said support structure provided in step (a);
• (c) incorporating said energy-directing surface with said tensioning cord truss attachment framework provided in step (b) to form a composite energy-directing surface assembly;
• and
• (d) attaching said composite surface assembly formed in step (c) to said stowable and deployable support structure provided in step (a).