1. Booms
Assuming alternatives are needed in place of the “Magic Tether,” there are several different boom types to be considered.

2. Boom Types There are 5 main boom types to consider: STEM Boom
Elastic Memory Composite (EMC) Boom
STACER Boom (SSTL)
Coilable Booms
Inflatable Boom

3. STEM Boom STEM: Storable Tubular Extendable Member
One of the oldest and most successful deployable booms
Current stems use either Beryllium Copper or Stainless Steal
Limited in size due to stored energy strains and high density
Reel-stored Extendable Boom
Analysis shows:
Significant reduction of mass
Improved specific stiffness
Reduced stored strain energy

4. Elastic Memory Composite (EMC) Boom
CTD’s STEM boom
A coilable Longeron Deployable Boom
Deployment force provided by stain energy
Made of unidirectional S-glass/epoxy
Prototype EMC longerons exhibited
Highly predictable
Repeatable structural response
Packaging performance
Significant reduction in system mass
Reduced stored strain energy

5. STACER Boom SSTL-Weitzmann 6m Deployable boom is Cons:
A rigid structure
Contains a prefabricated 1-13kg tip mass and deploying mechanism
Deploys at a rate of 0.3 m/s
Has a mass of 2.2kg (without tip mass)
Requires only 5 A for >10 msec.
A history of 25 years, with over 600 Units used
Cons:
*Has a storage size of 102x115x264 mm
*Deploys using Pyro-Cutter actuation

6. Coilable Booms ABLE Coilable Booms 100% Successful Flight Heritage
Two types
Lanyard Deployed
Most common
Compact mass stowage (2% of deployed length)
Extremely light weight capability (<50g/m)
Stowed stain energy gives positive deployment force
Least expensive
Canister Deployed
Motor driven
Retractable/deployable
Larger stowage volume

7. Inflatable Boom Inflatable boom from ILC Dover Thermoset composites
Thermally cured
Power requirement of 0.01W/in^2
Heater performance(survivability) validated
Outgassing negligible outside of MLI
Deployment Component if desired (as shown above)
BUT:
-Expanded in a inflation gas reaction (gas tank required)
-Less rigid of a structure than other boom types