An Electric Power Supply design for the space plasma ionic charge analyzer (SPICA) CubeSat

Author

Darbali-Zamora, R. ; Merced-Cirino, D.A. ; Gonzalez-Ortiz, Cesar S. ; Ortiz-Rivera, E.I.

Author_Institution

Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Univ. of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

fYear

2014

fDate

8-13 June 2014

Firstpage

1790

Lastpage

1795

Abstract

A CubeSat is a miniature satellite designed for space science. Due to its low cost and small size, not only has it earned a high position in the field of space exploration but it has also become a reliable tool for space education. CubeSats are powered by solar panels mounted on each side of the cube. It is essential to maximize the available electrical energy gained from the minimal solar panel area available. This paper primarily focuses on the Electric Power Supply (EPS) that is responsible for supplying power to the system. A prototype EPS is constructed using a SEPIC to regulate battery voltage as well as the voltage at the loads. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) using the optimal duty ratio of the DC/DC converter is employed in order to obtain the maximum power from the solar panels.

Keywords

artificial satellites; maximum power point trackers; plasma sources; solar power satellites; space power generation; DC-DC converter; MPPT; SEPlC; SPICA CubeSat; battery voltage regulation; electric power supply design; electrical energy; maximum power point tracking; miniature satellite; minimal solar panel area; optimal duty ratio; prototype EPS; space education; space exploration; space plasma ionic charge analyzer; space science; Regulators; Reliability engineering; CubeSat; DC/DC Converters; Electric Power Supply; MPPT; SEPIC;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2014 IEEE 40th

Conference_Location

Denver, CO

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925270

Filename

6925270