Abstract: There remains ongoing demands of high precision deployable antennas with large aperture in many space applications. A novel concept of one-layer cable-net antenna was proposed. The one-layer cable-net antenna is much simpler in topology, and the surface precision of which can be easily adjusted by adjusting the length of its central column. The method for predicting the internal cable forces was presented, and the form-finding method was proposed based on the energy method. Based on the theoretical analysis, the finite element model of a one-layer-cable-net antenna with 50m aperture was established. Through FEA, both the principle of the proposed concept and the feasibility of in-orbit adjustment of the surface precision were approved. Theoretical analysis and FEA both indicate that, with a uniform temperature variation of 100℃,the RMS surface error of a 50m one-layer cable-net antenna can be reduced to 5mm. 

Key words: space deployable antenna, surface accuracy, in-orbit adjustment, parabolic reflector, cable-net