THE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF A POWER SYSTEM FOR THE GALILEO SYSTEM TEST BED (GSTB-V2/A)

Craig S. Clark (1), Alan H. Weinberg(1), Kevin W. Hall(1) and Antonio Garutti (2) Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, U.K. Email: c.clark@sstl.co.uk , a.weinberg@sstl.co.uk and k.w.hall@sstl.co.uk (2) ESA ESTEC Keplerlaan 1 - 2200 AG, Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Email: Antonio.Garutti@esa.int
(1)

ABSTRACT Being more accustomed to the challenges faced in the design of power systems for small low Earth orbit spacecraft, the team of power engineers relished the opportunity to produce a power system for the Galileo System Test Bed. At the time of being issued the requirement for the power system for the demonstrator spacecraft, the team was already in the early stages of designing a system for a 2kW geostationary communications spacecraft, and a decision was made to combine the power system requirements of both missions to form an updated design specification. The resulting power system design uses a number of novel techniques in order to maintain modularity, reduce mass, maximize volume efficiency and to achieve practicably high operational efficiencies. In this paper, the system and unit design of the power system will be described in detail, along with the power system test results and performance capabilities. 1 INTRODUCTION

The original specifications for the geostationary communications platform power system was to have a 1kW system, capable of supplying 900W to the payload at 50V and also support up to 100W for the other platform systems, most of which are designed to operate from 28V 6V. However, in order to meet potential future requirements, the system needed to be scalable to support a payload of up to 2kW. The power system was also to be compatible with multi-junction GaAs solar arrays that were baselined for the first geostationary mission using this power system.

Spacecraft power engineers at Surrey are known more for their success in the development and production of low cost power systems for small Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) spacecraft. The power team at Surrey have been responsible for the development and production of over 30 spacecraft power systems with notable success ([1] to [3]). In 2003, the power team were asked to produce a power system for SSTLs geostationary (GEO) communications mission, GEMINI. The requirements for this mission were principally for 1kW power levels but required to be scalable up to 2kW+ and down to 500W to meet various payload needs. At only a handful of weeks into the development, SSTL were awarded a contract to provide a demonstrator spacecraft for a proposed navigation satellite constellation. A decision was quickly made to combine the power system requirements of both missions to form an updated design specification.

Figure 1 GSTB-V2/A CAD Model For navigation demonstrator spacecraft, the power system requirements were for an orbit average power of up to 800W, with all of the payload systems but the high power transmitter requiring an unregulated 28V bus (the transmitter requires a regulated 50V). In contrast to the geostationary requirements, the spacecraft was to use silicon solar arrays. In addition, the lower orbital period would demand a faster recharge rate than for a geostationary mission. With these differing requirements in mind, the suitability of the geostationary power system development to the navigation demonstrator mission was assessed and a number of design alterations

_____________________________________________________ Proc. Seventh European Space Power Conference, Stresa, Italy, 9-13 May 2005 (ESA SP-589, May 2005)

implemented. In the end, a power system with the ability to serve the requirements of both missions was conceived. The system has a dual bus and consists of a regulated main bus for the payload and an unregulated battery bus for the platform. With the power system architecture selected, the next steps of the design process could begin. These steps included breadboard and prototype testing, mechanical configuration design, interface definition and then qualification tests to validate the design using the prototype of the flight power system. With a fully operational and validated design, the flight build and test could commence to be readied in time for integration with the spacecraft. The resulting power system design uses a number of novel techniques in order to maintain modularity, reduce mass, maximise volume efficiency and to achieve practicably high operational efficiencies. The system and unit design of the power system will be described in the following sections, along with the power system test results and performance capabilities. 2 THE GSTB -V2 MISSION

SSTL started the GSTB-V2/A program in July 2003, and the satellite will be launched at the end of 2005.

Figure 2 GSTB-V2/A SQM at ESA ESTEC 3 POWER SYSTEM OUTLINE SPECIFICATION

The Galileo System Test Bed V2A (GSTB-V2/A) mission was commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a demonstrator spacecraft for Europes Galileo navigation program. The primary goals of the GSTB-V2/A mission are to secure Europes frequency allocation and to validate key technologies for the full Galileo constellation. GSTBV2A will be SSTLs first mission to the high-radiation environment of medium earth orbit (MEO), at 24,000 km altitude. SSTL has based GSTB-V2/A on core technologies developed under the Companys GEMINI (Geostationary Minisatellite) program. The spacecraft is a 600-kg, 3 -axis stabilised satellite with a cubical body approximately 1.3 metres on each edge (solar panels stowed). The bus features fully redundant avionics units, a butane propulsion system, and deployable sun-tracking arrays generating 700 Watts of power. This bus will carry the GSTB-V2/A payload elements, most important of which is a navigation signal generator capable of transmitting the codes and frequencies that will be used for the Galileo operational system. Transmissions from GSTB-V2/A will be used to investigate signal structures, band sharing strategies and receiver technologies for Galileo. An environment monitoring section will measure the radiation and spacecraft charging environments in MEO, and a number of technology demonstration elements will round out the payload complement.

The outline design specifications for the combined GSTB-V2/A / GEMINI power system are as follows: 7 year mission lifetime in GEO, 27 month lifetime in MEO. Scalable power levels from 500W to 2kW.

Figure 3 GSTB-V2/A Solar Array Deployment Test Be compatible with Silicon and GaAs based technology, deployable, sun tracking solar arrays (Figure 3 shows GSTB-V2/A solar panel deployment test at Dutch Space). Provide a regulated 50V bus for Payload systems and a nominal 28V bus for platform systems. For the bare electronics to be radiation tolerant to at least 50krads, nominal 100krads total dose. Be compatible with a Li-ion battery system

POWER SYSTEM DESCRIP TION

S3R 50V 1%
Main Error Amplifier

bus. As with the BCM, the MEA is fully redundant and majority voted. The Power Distribution Module (PDM) consists of multiple Timed Current Limiters (TCL) and fuses to distribute the power safely to the rest of the spacecraft. Essentially, there are two PDMs, one for the Payload incorporating 50V switches (21 switches) and one for the platform using 28V switches (43 switches). At present, most of SSTLs platform systems operate from an unregulated 28V bus and this is planned to be SSTLs standard platform bus voltage for all SSTL spacecraft in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it was logical to provide this voltage on GSTB-V2/A and GEMINI to negate the need for further development work to provide a new interface for existing SSTL subsystems. The battery voltage is sized such that it is compatible with the input voltage range of the platform systems and then incorporates a battery bus for the platform. SSTL have used a battery bus for all in house missions and hence have a great deal of experience of such systems. Another advantage of this approach is high efficiency of the transfer of energy from the battery to the platform systems during eclipse, amongst other safety issues that are discussed later in the paper.

Payload PDM

BDR BCR1 BDR2 BDR3 BDR4

Battery Charge Monitor

BDR BDR1 BDR2 BDR3

26.5 37.8V
Li-ion Battery Modules

Platform PDM

Figure 4 GSTB-V2/A Power System Block Diagram. The spacecrafts deployed silicon solar arrays interface to the spacecraft via a Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM). Dutch Space BV is the supplier of the solar arrays on GSTB-V2/A and the SADM is supplied by SNECMA. The solar arrays use the RWE Hi-ETA2 Silicon solar cells, configured in 144 cells per string and 4 strings per panel (laydown performed by Galileo Avionica). Each string constitutes an array section of maximum section current 1.1A. There are 4 panels, two per wing, equating to a total of 16 sections. The total power output per wing at summer solstice, EOL is 667W at 51.5V (assuming one string failure). The interface between the solar arrays and the payload is controlled via a Sequential Switching Shunt Regulator (S3R). There are 16 shunt sections, each section interfacing to a dedicated solar array section through the SADM. For eclipse operation, the power to the payload is supplied from the battery via hot redundant Battery Discharge Regulators (BDR). Each BDR has a 350W power handling capability and the failure of one will not result in any loss of required battery discharge capability. Three BDRs are required on GSTB-V2/A. The battery is charged during sunlight via the Battery Charge Regulators (BCR). For GSTB-V2/A there are four BCRs each connected to the payload bus. The end of charge detection is achieved using a majority voted, redundant, analogue control loop that senses the battery voltage. The battery charge control circuitry (Battery Charge Monitor (BCM)) is co-located with the BCR in a single unit tray. The Main Error Amplifier (MEA) monitors the voltage of the payload bus and provides an error voltage to the S3R, BDR and BCR to maintain regulation of the main

Figure 5 GSTB-V2/A PFM and FM battery modules '(courtesy of AEA Technology Space)'. A lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is used for energy storage to provide power during eclipse periods, Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP) and if the spacecraft loses sun pointing. Li-ion technology was selected in order to meet the tight mass and volume constraints of the development. For GSTB-V2/A, the required battery capacity is 60Ah or 1950Whrs. This achieved through 4 parallel-connected 9s10p (9 series cells per string and10 strings in parallel) modules, each providing 15Ah at a maximum terminal voltage of 37.8V. The battery modules are shown in Figure 5 and are supplied by AEA Technology Space.

4.1

Sequential Switching Shunt Regulator and Main Error Amplifier

The GSTB-V2/A Sequential Switching Shunt Regulator (S3R) [[4]] comprises of 16 relatively low power sections, each capable of supporting an array current of 3A at about 50V. The system is designed such that a loss of a shunt section equates to the loss of only 1/16th of the array power. This system is therefore highly tolerant to failures.

The MEA circuit provides 8 BCR and 8 BDR control interfaces. The ripple on the payload bus at any time is approximately 200mV peak-to-peak. In order to maintain bus impedance and ripple requirements, the Main Bus Capacitance has been set at 600 F. The S3R/MEA Engineering Model (EM) units are shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7. 4.2 The Battery Discharge Regulator

The BDR uses a basic push-pull Weinberg boost topology [[5]] and is rated at 350W output power (or 7A at 50V). This topology was selected for its high efficiency; high reliability and low mass. The input voltage range of the unit is 26.5V to 37.8V, matching the nominal voltage range of the battery, and will provide a regulated 50V ( 1%) on its output when controlled via the MEA. The BDR control circuit incorporates conduction control and has clock frequency of 200kHz. The control circuit interfaces to a set of MOSFET drivers and the output current is controlled by PWM. When operating at full load, the efficiency of the unit is greater than 94% (dependant on input voltage). Figure 6 MEA and Main Bus Capacitance (EM). The housing for the S3R consists of 3 module trays and also accommodates the Main Error Amplifier and Main Bus capacitor. The MEA regulates the Payload Bus to 50V 1%. A resistor ladder network interfaces the MEA to the S3R, controlling the number of sections that are on at any time and the regulation of the main bus during sunlight.

Figure 8 Battery Discharge Regulator (EM). Over-voltage protection is included in the module design and works to eliminate the failed BDR unit and cause of the over-voltage condition, from the power system. Input over-current protection is provided via a series MOSFET in the push-pull transformer circuit and double series diodes on the output prevent a single failure compromising the payload bus. More details of the BDR design can be found in [7]. 4.3 Over-voltage protection in the S3R is provided by a 17th section that interfaces to the payload substitution heater power interface, connecting a load greater than that of one array section to the bus should a shunt section failure impose an over-voltage condition on the bus. The Battery Charge Regulator

Figure 7 S3R shunt sections and snubber circuits (EM).

The BCR design uses a simple BUCK regulator as the main converter stage. Accurate charge current control is achieved via fast conductance control loop and the output current of each BCR is monitored via a current telemetry circuit.

The output voltage of the BCR is the battery voltage and the input voltage is the regulated 50V payload bus voltage. Each BCR is rated to 150W, has an efficiency of about 90% at full load and operates at a frequency of 100kHz.

Each switch requires a single telecommand for ON/OFF and provides individual switch status telemetry, switch current telemetry and under-voltage protection. If the current through the TCL exceeds a threshold value, the TCL current limits. This mode is allowed for a predetermined time after which the TCL switches OFF. The TCL can be switched back ON again by telecommand. Fault events are integrated and the time constant of integrator is of the same order as the thermal time constant of the main FET switch. The TCL is designed to provide a considerable inrush energy and can charge a capacitance of over 400uF without switching OFF. The TCL has an input (damped) filter to prevent spurious resets and can handle a modulating current fault condition. The efficiency of the TCL is above 99%.

Figure 9 Battery Charge Regulator (EM). The BCR circuit incorporates three main protection features: Input over-current protection, output over current protection and battery over-voltage protection.

Input over-current protection is provided by a Resetable Timed Current Limiter (RTCL). The principle of the operation of the RTCL is to provide continuous current limit protection into a short-circuit within the BCR electronics. The TCL circuit operation is described in section 4.4. However, unlike the TCL, this circuit will recycle after a preset period, retrying until the fault clears. The period length is such that the circuit temperature increase is kept to manageable levels and as is the power consumption of the faulty BCR. The output over-current protection circuit works on an entirely different principle, and limits the output current of the BCR to a level within the rating of the BCR. Over-voltage protection on the Battery Bus is achieved using a similar principle to the BDR over-voltage protection. Timed Current Limiter

Figure 10 Power Distribution Module (EM). 4.5 Telemetry and Telecommand Interface

The final module contains the telemetry and telecommand interface. On GEMINI and GSTB-V2/A this is in the form of redundant CAN (Controller Area Network) nodes. The nodes connect to the rest of the spacecraft, including the receiver and on-board computer, over a serial bus. The design of the power system allows this module to be easily swapped out with an alternative interface module, using a different protocol. 4.6 Power System Autonomy

4.4

The Power Distribution Module (PDM) provides the power interface to the rest of the spacecraft. This interface generally takes the for of the Timed Current Limiter (TCL), but a small number of systems are fused as they are never turned off. Each PDM unit has 24 TCLs, 15 of which are mid power switches, with limits up to 3A, and 9 are high power switches with limits up to 12A.

The power system is fully autonomous and fault tolerant. This is achieved through the use of majority voting circuits for critical control signals and command lines and the use of redundant systems. The power system is designed such that there is no one failure that can result in the loss of the full capability of the mission. In addition, the system is very tolerant to catastrophic failures such as loss of SA power due to an attitude

control loss. In this case, the spacecraft would automatically be switched into emergency sun pointing mode, the payload switched off and only essential parts of the service module on the platform would be powered from the battery. Without power from the arrays (no sun pointing) the battery should provide enough power for more than 30 hours of service module operation helped by the direct connection of the battery to the Platform PDM. The separation of the payload from the service module allows short circuit failures of the payload to be isolated very simply from the battery bus since this bus will hardly change its voltage during the fault. In fact the voltage on the Payload Bus will have to fall down to that of the battery before it affects the Platform Bus. This gives a large margin of time and voltage, in which to activate protection and switch off the faulty payload unit. 5 POWER SYSTEM MECHANICAL CONFIGURATION

platform (GEMINI) and the Galileo System Test Bed V2A. The power system design meets all of the requirements set out in the specification and requirements for both mission profiles by providing a regulated 50V bus for the payload and an unregulated 28V bus for the platform systems. The sub units within the power system provide simple, effective fault tolerance and the architecture has inherently simple safe modes. In addition, the modular design provides a system scalable from 500W to 2kW, meeting the requirements of a wide range of mission power levels and profiles. 7 REFERENCES

Structurally, the power system is broken down into sub modules. Each module has dimensions of 190mm x 135mm x 22mm. The exception being the S3R/MEA module, which occupies 3 standard modules, stacked together. When fully assembled, the power system stack weighs approximately 15kg.

[1] Craig S. Clark, Alan D. Hill and Martin Day, Commercial Nickel Cadmium Batteries for Space Use: A Proven Alternative for LEO Satellite Power Storage, European Space Power Conference, Tarragona, Spain 21-25 August 1998. [2] Dan Olsson, A Power System Design for a Microsatellite, ESA/ESTeC, European Space Power Conference, Graz, Austria 23-27 August 1993. [3] Craig S. Clark and Kevin W. Hall, Power System Design and Performance on the Worlds Most Advanced In-Orbit Nanosatellite , 6th European Space Power Conference, Porto, Portugal May 2002. [4] A. H. Weinberg and D. OSullivan, Sequential Switching Shunt Regulator (S3R) , Patent No.s 853 124 (Belgium April 1977), 4 186 336 (USA Jan 1980 and 1 101 059 (Canada May 1981). [5] A. H. Weinberg, A Boost Regulator with a New Energy-Transfer Principle, ESA Power Conference 1974. [6] A. H. Weinberg, A Boost Regulator with a New Energy-Transfer Principle, ESA Power Conference 1974. [7] A. H. Weinberg, The Battery Discharge Regulator Of The Galileo Satellite Test Bed-V2 Power System Using The Weinberg Topology, 7th European Space Power Conference, Stresa, Italy, 9-13 May 2005 (ESA SP-589, May 2005).

Figure 11 Power System Mechanical Configuration. The modular nature of the power system electronics means that the system can be painlessly configured to meet the requirements for a multitude of mission profiles and power levels. 6 CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper has described the power system for SSTLs low cost Ge ostationary communication satellite

The authors would like to thank everyone involved in the development and production of the GEMINI / GSTB-V2/A power system. Special thanks goes to Alejandro Lopez-Mazarius, Peter Alcindor, Keith Towell, Stephen Charlick, Joseph Kigonya, Craig Britton, Oluseye Olusoga, Rick Kimber, Brian Hirst and Jean Verniolle. Thanks also to the rest of the Power Division and GSTB-V2/A team at SSTL and ESA.