unfurlable

XM-5 will feature two large unfurlable antennas.

The new spacecraft features a nine-meter unfurlable reflector.

Deployment of the unfurlable antenna (UFA) also successfully completed with this.

The unfurlable antennas -- each with a diameter of about 14 yards -- increase the number of users of the communications satellite.

It will be mostly a demonstration spacecraft for new technologies, particularly large diameter unfurlable antenna reflectors and use of electric propulsion for orbit raising maneuvers.

All three Inmarsat 4 spacecraft utilize nine-meter diameter (30 feet) AstroMesh(TM) unfurlable mesh reflectors and boom support systems designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman's Astro Aerospace business unit.

In addition, six space shuttle missions have carried a dozen Harris-developed, unfurlable S- and Ku-band antennas into orbit as part of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).