Design and validation of modular MPPT electric power system for multi-U CubeSat

Li Peng, Zhou Jun, Yu Xiaozhou, Che Luping

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

To meet the power demand for multi-U CubeSat from 1U up to 20U, a kind of innovative modular electric power system(EPS) is designed and verified. The system can convert three independent photovoltaic power inputs with each channel up to 40Watts, and the maximum power point (MPP) for each channel can be set independently by hardware. The solar power is converted and stored in lithium-ion batteries. Using a high efficiency charge controller, the battery voltage is maintained between 6.5V to 8.4V. Two buck-converters are applied to change the battery power to 5V and 3.3V to supply other subsystems with 5A maximum current. A TI MPS430 ultralow power microcontroller is used to monitor the system status, switch the power outputs and communicate with onboard computer via I2C. The proposed EPS has already been applied in Aoxiang ZhiXing(Aoxiang-Sat), the world's first 12U scientific CubeSat, which is launched on June 25, 2016. The telemetry data shows that the power produced by EPS is abundant for the satellite, and it worked with excellent performance during the satellite lifetime.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2017 3rd IEEE International Conference on Control Science and Systems Engineering, ICCSSE 2017
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages374-377
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781538604847
DOIs
StatePublished - 26 Oct 2017
Event3rd IEEE International Conference on Control Science and Systems Engineering, ICCSSE 2017 - Beijing, China
Duration: 17 Aug 201719 Aug 2017

Publication series

Name2017 3rd IEEE International Conference on Control Science and Systems Engineering, ICCSSE 2017

Conference

Conference3rd IEEE International Conference on Control Science and Systems Engineering, ICCSSE 2017
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period17/08/1719/08/17

Keywords

  • aoxiang-sat
  • cubesat
  • electric power system
  • eps
  • mppt
  • multi-u
  • on-orbit validation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Design and validation of modular MPPT electric power system for multi-U CubeSat'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this