TOPEX/Poseidon electrical power system-performance

This paper shows that the power system performance (batteries, solar array, power regulator) on-board the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite has met or exceeded pre-launch predictions, and has successfully managed the performance of Ni-Cd batteries which had shown anomalous performance on other missions such as UARS and GRO. The battery performance is addressed through the following parameters: end-of-discharge voltage, peak charge current, charge to discharge ratio, and voltage differential. The solar array performance discussion includes voltage, current and power. There is also a discussion of the power regulator efficiency and the satellite load power history