Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of Deployable Telescope Tubular Mast (TTM) in Spacecraft Systems using Hybrid Coordinate and Kane's Methods

Deployable structures are essential for large spacecraft, allowing compact storage during launch and expansion in orbit. The Telescope Tubular Mast (TTM), a one-dimensional deployable structure, facilitates the positioning of payloads such as solar sails and antennas. The spacecraft system consists of a central hub and nested flexible tubes that deploy sequentially, creating a complex system with flexible parts with time-varying configurations interacting with the rigid rotation. To model this, two approaches are adopted and compared: one treats the TTM as a single body with varying characteristics using the Hybrid Coordinate method, and the other applies a multibody approach with fixed geometry for each element using Kane’s method. The first offers simpler dynamics, while the second increases accuracy at the cost of complexity. The results obtained by the two methods are cross-validated, with simulations showing that deploying process significantly impacts system dynamics, highlighting the need for specialized modelling strategies