How was the mast stowed?
So that it could be stowed inside a canister for take-off and landing, the SRTM mast collapsed from 60 meters to 3 meters (200 feet to 10 feet), a 20-to-1 compression ratio. That would be like shrinking Shaquille O’Neal, who is 7 feet, 1-inch tall, down to about 4.25 inches. To accomplish this, the structure unlatched and spiraled into the canister along with all the wires running to the outboard antennas.
