The GOLF Cart has been developed as a low-cost, simple solution for active gravity offloading systems designed for use with deploying lightweight spacecraft structures, such as antenna arrays. When testing array deployment, AFRL currently utilizes passive methods of controlling the effects of gravity on deploying structures and accurately simulating micro-gravity. A prior attempt at AFRL to actively simulate micro-gravity was pursued in a strain gauge-based system known as Active Gravity Offloader (AGO), but continued efforts were not pursued due to fundamental challenges presented by the design. The GOLF Cart successor to AGO uses a novel vision-based detection method for tracking and maintaining position over laterally moving deployments, with the capacity for multiple vertical offload strategies.
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