A UNIVERSAL POWER SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE: ONE TOPOLOGY FOR EARTH AND PLANETARY ORBITS

摘要

At a time when spacecraft engineers are under more and more pressure to deliver subsystems at a lower cost and shorter timescales, the emphasis in the specification of a spacecraft bus has been increasingly focused on the use of existing hardware. However, in many cases, the selected existing power system hardware is not entirely suitable for the conditions under which it will be utilised. This paper will introduce a power system concept and demonstrate its suitability for operation in all Earth orbits, interplanetary transfer phases and orbits of other planets. The control philosophy behind the operation of this novel power system design enables the spacecraft to compensate for changing solar array characteristics, typical of orbits with frequent eclipse periods or missions where illumination intensity varies significantly, but by also maintaining high transfer efficiency of power from the solar arrays to the bus. It will be demonstrated through the results of simulations, that this power system architecture is not 'just' suitable for applications in a multitude of orbits and mission profiles, but can be more efficient than the power system architectures traditionally used in the various mission types.