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Electrical Power Subsystem: Solar Array

The electrical power subsystem provides conditioned power to spacecraft components through a single power bus. It consists of a solar array, batteries, and power control unit. The solar array generates up to 1057 watts and provides power via a sun tracking assembly. Two 12 amp-hour nickel-cadmium batteries provide power during eclipse and peak loads. The power control unit regulates the bus voltage and controls battery charging, load shedding, and electroexplosive devices.

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Uma Mageshwari
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52 views5 pages

Electrical Power Subsystem: Solar Array

The electrical power subsystem provides conditioned power to spacecraft components through a single power bus. It consists of a solar array, batteries, and power control unit. The solar array generates up to 1057 watts and provides power via a sun tracking assembly. Two 12 amp-hour nickel-cadmium batteries provide power during eclipse and peak loads. The power control unit regulates the bus voltage and controls battery charging, load shedding, and electroexplosive devices.

Uploaded by

Uma Mageshwari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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108 GOES DataBook

Electrical Power Subsystem


The electrical power subsystem provides conditioned power to all spacecraft and
payload subsystems and components via a single power bus regulated at 42.0
0.5 volts dc in sunlight and 30.0 volts dc minimum during battery/eclipse
operations. The power subsystem consists of a solar array, a wing-mounted
sequential shunt assembly, two 12-ampere hour (Ah) nickel-cadmium batteries,
and a power control unit (PCU).

Electrical Power Subsystem Design Features

Solar Array Functioning


Single wing sun tracking Automatic disconnect/reconnect of
5-year minimum lifetime with margin sunlight loads
Override of automatic load switching on
Battery function-by-function basis
Two 12-Ah nickel cadmium batteries All loads commandable except command
28 cells per battery functions
60% maximum depth of discharge Redundancy for all critical functions:
Regulation Multiple battery charge circuits
30 to 42.5 V dc bus voltage Single battery cell failure tolerant
Sequential shunt limits sunlight voltage to Fully redundant solar array drive
42 0.5 V electronics
32.4 V minimum bus voltage at end of Backup solar array drive motor
eclipse winding

Solar Array
Primary power is supplied by a lightweight, two-panel solar array and
distributed to spacecraft loads through the power harness. The two panels are
attached to the single-axis, sun-tracking, continuously rotating solar array drive
assembly motor by a graphite yoke. The outboard panel is initially deployed 90
to provide power during the transfer orbit phase. When the spacecraft is in
geostationary orbit, both panels are deployed to their final operational position.
The array is capable of generating an end-of-life, summer solstice power of 1057
watts.
The generated power is provided to the primary bus via the solar array drive
assembly slip rings and the main enable plug. The array consists of 22 strings
containing 121 series cells, 6 battery-charge cell groups composed of 2 sets of 12
series by 3 parallel cells, and 4 groups of 12 series cells. Array output is
controlled under changing spacecraft load conditions by shunting the lower two-
thirds of 20 of the main bus strings to transistors in the sequential shunt
assembly (SSA). Wiring of the harness and shunting is designed to reduce the

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Electrical Power 109

Solar Array

current loop area, thereby minimizing the induced magnetic dipole moment of
the array.
The six battery-charge cell groups are nominally arranged to allow selection of
charge current levels to each of the two batteries. Application of the charge
current is selected by ground command-actuated relays in the PCU. By means of
a charge sequencing circuit within the PCU, selected charge rates may be
continuously applied to each battery or sequenced alternately between batteries
on 5-minute intervals. Ground-commandable cross-strap relays within the PCU
provide redundancy and allow selection of eight different charge current levels.

Batteries
The two nickel-cadmium batteries provide the power required during launch
and ascent phases of the flight (prior to outer solar panel deployment), when in
eclipses, and under peak load demands. The battery power is supplied to the
primary bus via parallel, redundant battery isolation diodes, redundant battery
relays, and the main enable plug. An automatic eclipse-load disconnect/
reconnect control capability and battery undervoltage disconnect capability are
provided; both automatic features can be overridden by manual command. The
spacecraft load condition in sunlight is such that some equipment must be
powered off during eclipse. An automatic load shedding capability is provided
which may be enabled and/or overridden upon ground command.

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110 GOES DataBook

Each of the two batteries consists of 28 series-connected 12-Ah nickel-cadmium


cells. The cell interconnects have been optimized to reduce induced magnetic
dipole effects during charge and discharge current conditions. Individual cell
voltages in each battery are monitored via the spacecraft telemetry through the
PCU.
Heaters (resistors) are mounted in parallel on the battery intercell separators.
These heaters, in conjunction with temperature sensors on each battery and the
automatic temperature control circuitry contained in the PCU, supply a
thermostatically controlled 19 watts of heating to maintain battery temperatures
between +1 and +5 C during periods of cold exposure. This thermostatically
controlled interface is redundantly protected by a manual command override
capability.

12 Ampere-hour Nickel-Cadmium Battery

Power Control, Electroexplosive Devices,


and Sequential Shunt Assembly Units
The PCU, as the functional center for all spacecraft power generation and
control, regulates the solar array output through the sequential shunt assembly,
maintaining 42.0 volts in the power bus during sunlight operation despite
changing load conditions. This is performed by a redundant, majority-voting,
error amplifier in the PCU that generates control signals for sequentially turning
on shunt transistors in the SSA. The SSA is mounted on a heat sink on the dark
back side of the inboard solar array panel to allow thermal dissipation.
The PCU contains circuitry and relays for battery charging, sequence charging,
undervoltage protection, reconditioning, and temperature control. It also

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Electrical Power 111

Power Control Unit

EED Extension Unit

Sequential Shunt Assembly

contains a set of radio frequency interference (RFI) -tight cavities that house
relays used to select and fire electroexplosive devices (EEDs); these initiate
equipment deployment early in the flight. The number of pyrotechnic events
requires additional EED bridgewire actuators beyond those available in the PCU.
Three EED extension units provide these actuators, each housing the EED relays
in an RFI-tight cavity as with the PCU. Relay drivers and individual current
limiting resistors are housed in the remaining volume of each extension unit.
Primary bus voltage for the actuators is derived from the PCU.
The PCU also provides interfaces to the spacecraft telemetry and command
subsystem, allowing the above PCU functions to be monitored and controlled.

Spacecraft Load Control


Each primary power bus load (except for command receivers and command
units) is connected to and disconnected from the primary bus by command. To
conserve battery power during eclipse, power is automatically removed from
sunlight loads upon entering and automatically restored upon exiting the eclipse
period. Command override of this automatic function is provided.

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112 GOES DataBook

Commanded Load Control


Application of power to individual loads is provided by on/off control input to
each load dc/dc converter and by direct power bus switching of nonelectronic
loads (heaters). Command unit latching relays control application of primary bus
voltage to the dc/dc converter control input and the nonelectronic loads.
Command receivers and command units are permanently connected to the
primary bus and cannot be disconnected by command.
Automatic Load Control
Automatic control of sunlight loads, including override, is accomplished on a
function-by-function basis. The PCU performs automatic load shedding for
eclipse operations via redundant load controllers that monitor the solar array
and control bus currents. When the array current drops below 5 amperes, the
load controller generates output signals that turn off selected loads. Upon
emerging from eclipse, the controller delays until the SSA current exceeds 8
amperes, then sequentially issues signals that reapply the loads. The time
duration between individual load turn-on output signals is 20 seconds. Output
signals are relay contact closures sent to the associated command unit and
incorporated into the turn-on command structure. Override of each load control
output is provided in the associated command unit and controls turn-on/turn-off
of spacecraft load groups during eclipse transitions.
Sequential Load Restoration
Power bus transients are minimized by sequential load restoration; precharge of
input capacitors is not required.

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