Power subsystem for small satellites with unified operational mode controller

Abstract

This paper presents a novel unified three domain control unit for onboard power management in small satellite power systems. The control unit consists of several autonomous auto-oscillating MPPTs (Maximum Power Point Tracker), a CV (Constant Voltage) control and a CC (Constant Current) control of charging the battery. The introduced circuits were developed for a high reliability power subsystem with unregulated power bus topology. A combination of distributed and centralized circuits are used to provide an efficient single point failure free solution for battery charging and solar array power management.