Electrical Power Systems (EPS)¶
This section covers power generation (solar panels), storage (batteries and BMS), conditioning and distribution (EPS and power buses).
Power Requirements and Budgets¶
To be added here:
- Estimating average and peak power consumption
- Mission modes and duty cycles
- Power margins and derating
- Coupling power budgets to thermal and ADCS constraints
Solar Power Generation¶
To be added here:
- Body-mounted vs. deployable solar panels
- Cell technologies and efficiencies
- Illumination, eclipses, and incidence angles
- Wiring, blocking diodes, and degradation over time
Energy Storage¶
To be added here:
- Battery chemistries used in CubeSats
- Capacity sizing and depth-of-discharge
- Charge and discharge limitations
- Lifetime, degradation, and safety considerations
Battery Management Systems (BMS)¶
To be added here:
- Cell balancing approaches
- Over-voltage, under-voltage, and over-current protection
- Temperature monitoring and cutoffs
- Interaction between BMS and EPS logic
Power Conditioning and Regulation¶
To be added here:
- Maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
- Buck, boost, and buck-boost converters
- Efficiency vs. noise tradeoffs
- Startup and brownout behaviour
Power Distribution and Buses¶
To be added here:
- Common bus voltages (e.g. unregulated battery, 3.3 V, 5 V, 12 V)
- Switched vs. always-on loads
- High-side vs. low-side switching
- Connector and harness considerations
Power Switching and Protection¶
To be added here:
- Load switches and current limiters
- Fuses, polyfuses, and electronic protection
- Inrush current management
- Fault containment and isolation
Inhibits and Deployment Safety¶
See also: Inhibits and HDRM.
EPS Monitoring and Telemetry¶
To be added here:
- Voltage, current, and temperature sensing
- Telemetry resolution and sampling rates
- Using power telemetry for fault detection
- Ground-based analysis and trending
EPS Integration Considerations¶
To be added here:
- Coupling with thermal design
- Interaction with flight software and modes
- Ground testing and power simulation
- Common integration pitfalls
👉 Please consider contributing!