June 2015
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SMARD (Shape Memory Alloy Reusable Deployment Mechanism) is an experiment for a sounding rocket developed by students at Technische Universität München (TUM). It was launched in March 2015 on REXUS 18 (Rocket Experiments for University Students). The goal of SMARD was to develop a solar panel hold-down and release mechanism (HDRM) for a CubeSat using shape memory alloys (SMA) for repeatable actuation and the ability to be quickly resettable. This paper describes the technical approach as well as the technological development and design of the experiment platform, which is capable of proving the functionality of the deployment mechanism. Furthermore, the realization of the experiment as well as the results of the flight campaign are presented. Finally, the future applications of the developed HDRM and its possible further developments are discussed.