Patent ID: 7309049

Claim:
A layer of releasably attached flexible gores for use with the hull of a spacecraft comprising: a plurality of gores, each gore having a top surface, a bottom surface, a length, a width, and a first and second opposing edges extending substantially the length of each gore; edge strips, each having a top surface and a bottom surface, and an edge strip extending substantially the length of a gore and the top surface of the edge strip fixedly attached to the bottom of the gore such that a portion of the edge strip extends beyond the first edge of the gore; a first releasable contact-fastener affixed to the top surface portion of the edge strip that extends beyond the first edge of the gore and the first releasable contact-fastener extending substantially the length of the gore, a second releasable contact-fastener affixed to the bottom surface of the gore and adjacent to the second edge of each gore and extending substantially the length of the gore; and the first releasable contact-fastener on the edge strip cooperating with the second releasable contact-fastener of an adjacent gore thereby releasably securing the gores together, and a plurality of gores attached in like fashion and the secured gores disposed to substantially cover the hull of a spacecraft.