ECPS

CubeSats are small satellites that can allow people to test new ideas and further research that is too risky for more expensive satellites. The difficulty with CubeSats is that they are small, which means the Solar panels must be small as well. This issue leads to a limit to the amount of power available for the satellite’s payload, which means the panels must be as efficient as possible or used to their maximum efficiency.

 

In space, solar panels of CubeSats are under a lot of stress. Temperature ranges from -40C to 120C which causes the solar panels to vary in power output. Solar radiation and cosmic rays can damage the solar cells causing them to degrade over time. Sunlight only hits each panel for a fraction of the time since the satellite will be both spinning and orbiting the Earth.

 

The size of the solar cells are limited in size by the satellites size. The cells will require some shielding which may cause an effect on the power reaching the panels. The shielding adds durability and support to the panels at the cost of lower power input. Durability and reliability of the power system is necessary since fixing the satellite while in space is impossible.

 

Any solution for a power supply must be inexpensive, use the panels as efficiently as possible and reliable enough to run for months or years. one earth day is approximately 15 satellite day night cycles making it so the battery has a smaller life. The solution must not be too complex but still gather as much power as possible from the solar panel. A MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker) circuit could have a variety of applications not just in CubeSats.