The deployable structure is constructed by the combination of basic structural units, which is composed of rods, cables, and membranes. As the space deployable structure has the ability of realizing the transition from a tightly folded state to a controllable unfolded state, it is becoming the main mean to solve the contradiction between large spacecraft structures and the envelope volume of rocket launchers. Large-scale, lightweight, and high-precision deployable structures have been widely demanded in the fields of deep space/lunar explorations, high resolution earth/astronomical observations, and space solar power stations.

To achieve the performance demands of lightweight and high-precision, large-scale space, deployable structures face some new technical challenges in the aspects of design, analysis, and measurement. One technical challenge is the design of novel deployable structural forms to reduce the total weight, which is usually accompanied by new design and modeling methods of mechanisms as well as the application of new materials. As large-scale space, deployable structures have the characteristics of large, flexible, and strong nonlinearities, reliable deployment and high-precision retention in complex space environments are other technical challenges. The solutions of these technical challenges require to propose a set of special methods of analysis, measurement, vibration control, and etc. Furthermore, the emerging in-orbit assembly technology will bring some additional technical challenges except the above-mentioned challenges.

Original contributions and reviews providing insight into the use of techniques and methods for the design of deployable mechanisms, structural analysis in space environments, deployment dynamics, structural vibration control, reliability design and analysis, in-orbit assembly, thermal control, performance verification and experiment on ground, shape measurement and application of novel materials are welcomed in this Special Issue. Comparisons with experiments/tests conducted by the authors or others to validate the main contribution of the paper are strongly encouraged.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Design and analysis of deployable mechanisms
• Performance optimization of deployable structures
• Deployment dynamics of deployable structures, such as space deployable antennas, solar array, membranes
• Passive and active control methods in structural vibration
• Reliability analysis for the deployment and structural performance
• In-orbit assembly methods, including module design, interface design, assembly sequence planning, and control methods
• Thermal control of deployable structures
• Static and dynamic analysis of deployable structures
• Testing methods on the ground, such as gravity unloading, gravity compensation, thermal test
• In-orbit measurement methods for static surface/shape and dynamic responses of deployable structures