Opterus R&D | News & Media

Opterus Receives SBIR Phase II Award from NASA to Develop a Small Satellite Deployable Antenna Reflector

LOVELAND, CO - June 15, 2025

Opterus Research and Development, a leading space structures company advancing high-strain composite technology, has received a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award to mature and validate a high-frequency (mmWave) deployable antenna reflector for small spacecraft.

The effort aims to address a critical capability gap in existing deployable reflector technology for CubeSats and SmallSats, two spacecraft architectures gaining popularity due to their cost-effective means of enabling remote sensing, communications, and reconnaissance.

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Publications

Below is a list of publications written by members of our team at Optures.

Murphey, T. W., et al (2015). High Strain Composites. In 2nd AIAA Spacecraft Structures Conference (pp. 1–53). Kissimmee, FL.
Murphey, T. W., Peterson, M. E., and Grigoriev, M. M. (2015), “Large Strain Four-Point Bending of Thin Unidirectional Composites,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 52, May 2015, pp. 882–895.
Murphey, T. W., et al (2013), “Four Point Bending of Thin Unidirectional Composite Laminas,” 54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Boston, MA.
Peterson, M. E., and Murphey, T. W. (2013), “Large Deformation Bending of Thin Composite Tape Spring Laminates,” 54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Boston, MA.
Murphey, T. W., et al (2011), “Nonlinear elastic constitutive modeling of large strains in carbon fiber composite flexures,” 16th International Conference on Composite Structures, A.J.M. Ferreira, ed., Porto, Portugal: FEUP.
Sanford, G. E., Biskner, A., and Murphey, T. W. (2010), “Large Strain Behavior of Thin Unidirectional Composite Flexures,” 51st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Orlando, FL.
Murphey, T. W. (2009), “Large Strain Composite Materials In Deployable Space Structures,” 17th International Conference on Composite Materials, Edinburgh, UK: The British Composites Society.
Murphey, T. W., et al (2007), “A Test Method to Assess the Foldability of Flexible Structural Materials,” 48th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Honolulu, HI. Pollard, E. L., and Murphey, T. W. (2006), “Development of Deployable Elastic Composite Shape Memory Alloy Reinforced (DECSMAR) Structures,” 47th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Newport, RI.
Murphey, T. W., et al (2001), “Some micromechanics considerations of the folding of rigidizable composite materials,” 42nd AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Seattle, WA.

Opterus Receives SBIR Phase II Award from NASA to Develop a Small Satellite Deployable Antenna Reflector

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