Spacecraft bus regulation using solar panel position
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsAllan F. Ahrens, Harold A. Rosen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spacecraft power bus regulation method and apparatus for a spacecraft. The spacecraft has solar arrays (10) and a battery (30) coupled to the spacecraft power bus (32) to drive electrical loads (34). A bus voltage limiter (38) controls the flow of current from the solar arrays while a bidirectional battery controller (36) controls power flow into and out of the battery. A processor (46) monitors current flow and battery condition using sensors (40, 42, 44, 48) and controls the bus voltage limiter accordingly. Auxiliary control is provided by the solar array drive (24) which controls the orientation of the solar arrays with respect to the sun.
Claims23
In a spacecraft having a bus for carrying electrical power, an apparatus for controlling the electrical power carried on the bus comprising:
- a battery for receiving and storing the electrical power from the bus and for supplying the electrical power from storage to the bus;
- a battery controller for regulating the flow of the electrical power from and to the bus into and out of the battery;
- a solar array having a plurality of solar cells for receiving radiation from the sun, generating electrical power therefrom and supplying the generated electrical power to the bus, the rate of the electrical power generation being affected by the orientation of the solar array with respect to the sun;
- a solar array drive for changing the orientation of the solar array with respect to the sun;
- a battery condition sensor for measuring the charge state of the battery;
- and
- a processor in communication with the battery condition sensor for controlling the solar array drive so as to affect the rate of electrical power generation of the solar array and thereby cause the solar array to supply the electrical power sufficient to maintain a desired battery condition.
In a spacecraft having an electrical power bus, a battery for receiving and storing the electrical power from the bus and providing the electrical power from storage to the bus, a battery controller for regulating the flow of the electrical power from and to the bus into and out of the battery, a solar array for receiving radiation from the sun, generating electrical power therefrom and supplying the generated electrical power to the bus, the rate of electrical power generation being affected by the orientation of the solar array with respect to the sun, and a solar array drive for changing the orientation of the solar array with respect to the sun, an apparatus for controlling the electrical power carried on the bus comprising:
- a battery condition sensor for measuring the charge state of the battery;
- and
- a processor in communication with the battery condition sensor for controlling the solar array drive so as to affect the rate of electrical power generation of the solar array and thereby cause the solar array to supply the electrical power sufficient to maintain a desired battery condition.
In a spacecraft having a bus for carrying electrical power, a battery coupled to the bus for receiving the electrical power from and storing the electrical power from the bus and for supplying the electrical power to the bus, and a solar array for supplying the electrical power to the bus, a method for controlling the electrical power carried on the bus comprising:
- regulating the flow of the electrical power on the bus into and out of the battery for stabilizing the bus voltage;
- measuring the condition of the battery;
- moving the orientation of the solar array with respect to the sun in response to the battery condition measurement for adjusting the amount of the electrical power generated by the solar array and thereby maintaining a desired battery condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.