LGarde engineers took their experience with inflatable structures for military use to space applications around 1992 as a means of controlling the cost of deploying instrumentation into Earth orbit and beyond.
They studied development work and lessons learned from projects for the United States Department of Defense and the NASA going back to the 1960s.
Observing the advantages and challenges of deploying a very large inflatable antenna and other structures in Earth orbit using this technology, LGarde engineers also observed changes in structural principles when such structures are used in a zero-gravity environment, and other technical issues arising for large precision structures including surface accuracy, analysis and electrical properties.

LGarde's first inflatable space structure project was the Spartan 207 Project, also known as the Inflatable Antenna Experiment, which was launched with Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-77, May 19.
1996.
The goal of this mission was to inflate a 14-meter antenna on three 28-meter struts built by LGarde under contract with JPL.
The project was developed under NASA's In-STEP technology development program.

Deployed using the shuttle's Remote Manipulator System, the antenna was successfully inflated and the correct final shape was attained.
According to the final mission report, the mission was successful and gained a great deal of information about inflating large structures in space.
Among the points that the Spartan 207 project proved was the viability of inflatable space structures as a cost-saving concept.
The inflatable antenna weighed only about 132 pounds (60 kilograms) and an operational version of the antenna may be developed for less than $10 million - a substantial savings over current mechanically deployable hard structures that may cost as much as $200 million to develop and deliver to space.

LGarde engineers expanded their development of inflatable rigidizable structures with low mass structures strong enough to support orbital large solar arrays as well as much smaller nanosats.
Among the many detail design parameters they considered were tube design (for rigidizable material), alternative beam types and designs (e.g., trusses), material thickness, laminates, and the best way to resolve Euler buckling.

A project, conducted with JPL under NASA's Gossamer Spacecraft program in 1999, sought to build an inflatable reflector to concentrate solar energy for space electrical power generation, while acting as a large aperture high gain antenna.
Among the goals of the Gossamer Spacecraft program was to reduce the mass and stowage volumes of a power antenna while maintaining comparable yield from electrical power generation.

Additional development came in 2005, when LGarde began utilizing material rigidization methods that provide a long lasting reflector shape without requiring continuous inflation.
Engineers settled on an aluminum/plastic laminate as the rigidization method of choice over cold rigidization of a Kevlar thermoplasticelastomer composite as a means of accomplishing two goals: 1) diminish stowage space and thereby expanding the potential aperture size of the mirror reflectors and 2) eliminate the need for “make-up” gas needed for purely inflatable reflectors to remain inflated in space.
LGarde engineers later advanced the readiness level of the inflatable planar support structure for the gossamer antenna system with additional design, analysis, testing, and fabrication of an inflation-deployed rigidized support structure for the waveguide array.

Going into 2002, LGarde was developing polyurethane resins for a 3-ply composite laminate that could be used in the fabrication of rigidizable structures suitable for use in space.
 
In a paper submitted to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), engineers found that such composites can be used to fabricate ultra-lightweight deployable rigidizable structures for space applications and that polyurethane was chosen because it could become rigid when exposed to the low temperatures of space.
The pa
LGarde engineers took their experience with inflatable structures for military use to space applications around 1992 as a means of controlling the cost of deploying instrumentation into Earth orbit and beyond. They studied development work and lessons learned from projects for the United States Department of Defense and the NASA going back to the 1960s. Observing the advantages and challenges of deploying a very large inflatable antenna and other structures in Earth orbit using this technology, LGarde engineers also observed changes in structural principles when such structures are used in a zero-gravity environment, and other technical issues arising for large precision structures including surface accuracy, analysis and electrical properties.
LGarde's first inflatable space structure project was the Spartan 207 Project, also known as the Inflatable Antenna Experiment, which was launched with Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-77, May 19. 1996. The goal of this mission was to inflate a 14-meter antenna on three 28-meter struts built by LGarde under contract with JPL. The project was developed under NASA's In-STEP technology development program.
Deployed using the shuttle's Remote Manipulator System, the antenna was successfully inflated and the correct final shape was attained. According to the final mission report, the mission was successful and gained a great deal of information about inflating large structures in space. Among the points that the Spartan 207 project proved was the viability of inflatable space structures as a cost-saving concept. The inflatable antenna weighed only about 132 pounds (60 kilograms) and an operational version of the antenna may be developed for less than $10 million - a substantial savings over current mechanically deployable hard structures that may cost as much as $200 million to develop and deliver to space.
LGarde engineers expanded their development of inflatable rigidizable structures with low mass structures strong enough to support orbital large solar arrays as well as much smaller nanosats. Among the many detail design parameters they considered were tube design (for rigidizable material), alternative beam types and designs (e.g., trusses), material thickness, laminates, and the best way to resolve Euler buckling.
A project, conducted with JPL under NASA's Gossamer Spacecraft program in 1999, sought to build an inflatable reflector to concentrate solar energy for space electrical power generation, while acting as a large aperture high gain antenna. Among the goals of the Gossamer Spacecraft program was to reduce the mass and stowage volumes of a power antenna while maintaining comparable yield from electrical power generation.
Additional development came in 2005, when LGarde began utilizing material rigidization methods that provide a long lasting reflector shape without requiring continuous inflation. Engineers settled on an aluminum/plastic laminate as the rigidization method of choice over cold rigidization of a Kevlar thermoplasticelastomer composite as a means of accomplishing two goals: 1) diminish stowage space and thereby expanding the potential aperture size of the mirror reflectors and 2) eliminate the need for “make-up” gas needed for purely inflatable reflectors to remain inflated in space. LGarde engineers later advanced the readiness level of the inflatable planar support structure for the gossamer antenna system with additional design, analysis, testing, and fabrication of an inflation-deployed rigidized support structure for the waveguide array.
Going into 2002, LGarde was developing polyurethane resins for a 3-ply composite laminate that could be used in the fabrication of rigidizable structures suitable for use in space.  
In a paper submitted to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), engineers found that such composites can be used to fabricate ultra-lightweight deployable rigidizable structures for space applications and that polyurethane was chosen because it could become rigid when exposed to the low temperatures of space. The pa
LGarde