ADVANCED MAXIMUM POWER TRACKING CIRCUIT FOR IMPROVING SMALLSPACECRAFT POWER UTILIZATION, PROPOSED FOR USE ONBOARD THENAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL SATELLITE: NPSAT1

摘要

In this paper an approach for improving spacecraftavailable power using an advanced solar panelsmaximum power tracking circuit is presented. NPSAT1satellite is proposed as a demonstration of the advantageof this design. NPSAT1 is a technology demonstrationsatellite that provides educational opportunities forstudents at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), and isan experiment bus for integrating experiments. Themulti multi-faceted Triple Triple-Junction solar cell panels beingused for NPSAT1 are exposed to sunlight at differentangels. The resulting output varies in power dependingon the illumination angel of each panel. With the useof a novel Buck Buck-Boost converter spe specifically designed tocifically track maximum power point of each solar panel willresult in a significant increase in the overall satelliteavailable power by utilizing switching topology to beable to generate a considerable amount of energy even ina subdued ligh lighting condition. Although a small amountting of power is generated, given enough time, a battery willreach its full charge compared to none, using a panelwithout the circuit. The NPSAT1 mission, conceivedand developed by the Naval Postgraduate School SpaceSystems Academic Group (SSAG), is sponsored andexecuted by the DoD Space Test Program (SMC Det12).