A winding and stretching mechanism based on shape memory polymer composite materials has the function of integrating curling locking, driving unfolding, and stiffening load-bearing. One end is connected to a fixed platform (such as a satellite), and the side is connected to the driven device (such as a light shield, flexible solar film cell). The winding and stretching mechanism includes pod pole type, C-shaped pole type, etc.

The flexible solar cell system driven by the winding and stretching mechanism has been applied on practical satellites, with a power to mass ratio 2-3 times higher than that of rigid solar cells.