Heliosaur — Origami Solar Sail

A folded photovoltaic solar sail that deploys from a 3U CubeSat into a 25 m² flower of thin-film cells. It both catches sunlight as power and as gentle thrust, letting tiny student spacecraft change orbit without fuel.

complexity: hardtolerance: ultra precision

Snapshot

Feasibility at a glance

PT localization

6/10

Partial

Most steps can be localised in Portugal.

Per unit

€18,000–€28,000 per unit

at 8-unit volume

Starter batch

8units

minimum viable run

To first batch

Bottom line

Vacuum-deposit GaAs photovoltaic onto rolls of aluminised mylar.

Read full insight

Picked based on the localization score (6/10) plus the dominant process (cnc machining). For an early build at this batch size, this gives you the best balance of cost, risk, and speed of iteration.

What it does

4 capabilities

Stores compactly inside a CubeSat slot during launch.

Unfurls in vacuum into four overlapping petals using shape-memory hinges.

Catches photons as electricity AND as gentle thrust at the same time.

Folds back on command for a controlled de-orbit when the mission ends.

How it's made

4 stations · build route

1
Coat the film
Vacuum-deposit GaAs photovoltaic onto rolls of aluminised mylar.
2
Crease the origami
CNC-cut creases, folded by hand on a temperature-controlled jig.
3
Wind the booms
Filament-wound carbon composite — they roll up like a tape measure.
4
Vacuum deploy
Final qual is a full deployment in a thermal-vacuum chamber, twice.

Coat the film

Vacuum-deposit GaAs photovoltaic onto rolls of aluminised mylar.

Crease the origami

CNC-cut creases, folded by hand on a temperature-controlled jig.

Wind the booms

Filament-wound carbon composite — they roll up like a tape measure.

Vacuum deploy

Final qual is a full deployment in a thermal-vacuum chamber, twice.

Risks to watch

3 identified · 2 blocking

1 critical

1 high

1 medium

Critical

Deployment mechanism fails in vacuum

Vacuum deployments are unforgiving — one stuck hinge ends the mission.

Mitigation — Vacuum-cycle the hinge mechanism 50× before sign-off; redundant release path.

High

Material delamination after thermal cycling

Bonded composite + film stacks crack at ~50 cycles unless the bond is qualified.

Mitigation — Run 100 thermal-vacuum cycles on a witness panel before flight build.

Medium

Random-vibe load shears connectors

Launcher-induced vibe finds the weakest connector, every time.

Mitigation — Stake every connector and qualify on a vibe table to 12g RMS.

Production timeline

20 weeks to first batch

wk 1wk 7

CNC machining

wk 1–2

Composite lay-up

wk 3

Laser cutting

wk 4

Filament winding

wk 5

Final assembly

wk 6

Functional QA & batch sign-off

wk 7

wk 1wk 3wk 5wk 6wk 7

CNC machining

wk 1–2

Composite lay-up

wk 3

wk 1–2 is the longest stretch — CNC machining takes 2 weeks of the 7 weeks on this build.

What goes into it

5 materials · 6 processes

Materials

2.5 µm aluminised mylar (sail film)Thin-film GaAs photovoltaic depositionCarbon-fibre composite boomsDyneema retraction linesShape-memory alloy hinges

Processes

cnc_machiningcomposite_layuplaser_cuttingfilament_windingfinal_assemblytesting_inspection

The plan

9 tasks · 30 weeks to first batch

Week 1

2 tasks

foundersmall effort

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

One material set, one feature set, one user persona. Anything else is roadmap, not pilot.

opssmall effort

Shortlist three vendors per critical step

Use GETMILK Match to pull a ranked list across the top three processes — cnc_machining, composite_layup, laser_cutting. Send the same RFQ to all three; do not customise per vendor yet.

Weeks 2–3

2 tasks

engineeringmedium effort

Freeze the design for the first 10 units

Move the active CAD set to a tagged release; any change after the freeze gets logged in the change-board.

opsmedium effort

Place first-article orders with two of the three vendors

waits on Vendor shortlist signed off

Order one of each critical part at full spec. Do not buy 100 — buy 1, inspect, learn, then buy 100.

Weeks 4–7

2 tasks

engineeringlarge effort

Run the integration pilot

waits on First articles delivered

Ten complete units assembled in-house. Track yield, defect modes, and cycle time on a shared dashboard.

legalmedium effort

Kick off compliance + certification

Engage a notified body for the relevant standards. Booking a slot now beats discovering a 12-week wait later.

Weeks 8–16

2 tasks

foundermedium effort

Put 25 units in the hands of lighthouse users

waits on Integration pilot complete

These users help refine the product, but they also become your first paid customers. Charge a symbolic price so the data is real.

foundersmall effort

Scale-readiness review with the chosen primary vendor

waits on Lighthouse trial telemetry

Before you tool up for 1000 units, walk the line together and agree on capacity, payment terms, and the failure-mode plan.

Ongoing

1 task

opssmall effort

Stand up a customer support loop

Every defect that reaches a user becomes a ticket, a root cause, a fix, and a regression test on the line.

Who you need

3 roles to fill before month one

Mission qualification partner

ESA Φ-lab

Free flight-heritage advice for student-led missions.

PT aerospace prime

Tekever

Has the supply chain we want to plug into.

Vacuum / thermal test lab

CTAE

Books fastest in the EU for academic partners.

Watch-outs

3 things to avoid in this plan

watch-out

Founder time leaks into vendor management instead of customer development

certification

Compliance booked too late and blocks shipping for 8+ weeks

quality

Demand exceeds the chosen vendor's small-batch capacity right when momentum matters

2 tasks in week 1

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

Open the plan

Shortlist

567 matched · 8 shown, ranked by coverage

Covers, left to right: CNC Machining · Composite Layup · Laser Cutting · Filament Winding · Final Assembly · Testing & Inspection

Manufacturer

Location

Covers

Certifications

People

DIB4T

Marinha Grande TELEFONE

—

Epsilon Composite

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

—

Almadesign

Marinha Grande / Lisbon

—

REROM

Golpilheira TELEFONE

—

MOLDMAK

Oliveira de Azeméis

—

ITECMO

Maceira TELEFONE

—

Quickmold

—

SMF

Île-de-France

—

Registry coverage

Portuguese producers per required step

Final Assembly

369

CNC Machining

212

Testing & Inspection

178

Composite Layup

Laser Cutting

Filament Winding

Depth

How many cover more than one step

567cover at least one step

202cover two or more

18cover three or more

0cover all 6 steps

The gap

Picked based on the localization score (6/10) plus the dominant process (cnc machining). For an early build at this batch size, this gives you the best balance of cost, risk, and speed of iteration.

Send one RFQ to the top 4

DIB4T, Epsilon Composite, Almadesign, REROM — same package, one click.

Request quotes