CTD Awarded Patent for Slit-Lock Boom Feature
January 28, 2020
CTD was awarded a patent (US Patent 10,544,900) for Slit Tube Locking Longeron. This intellectual property enables increased boom stiffness to support large payloads at the boom tip, while limiting torsional motion and increasing boom stability. The proliferation of CubeSat and SmallSat payloads that require deployment separation from the spacecraft demands an equally capable support structure that is both compact and lightweight in the stowed configuration, and strong and stiff in the deployed configuration.
CTD has utilized this technology since 2011 and looks to continue employing it in the advanced payloads that will support the upcoming lunar and Martian missions.