The limited available surface for solar arrays, which are often body mounted on microsatellites, imposes a critical constraint on the photovoltaic system. For this reason it is mandatory to extract the maximum possible power by the solar arrays on-board microsatellites. A system capable to extract the maximum power from solar arrays in any operative condition, seems a very attractive way to design the power subsystem of a microsatellite. In this paper the analysis of a MPPT (maximum peak power tracking) system designed for UNISAT-3 microsatellite photovoltaic arrays is discussed. The microsatellite is entirely designed and developed from students researchers and professors of the Gruppo di Astrodinamica dell’Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” (G.A.U.S.S.). MPPT can also improve the system reliability, as shown by experiments performed using a damaged solar panel. A MPPT flying unit has been realized and it is currently being tested in orbit, on board UNISAT-3.
Design and test of a maximum power point tracking system for Unisat-3 microsatellite
PIERGENTILI, FABRIZIO
2004
Abstract
The limited available surface for solar arrays, which are often body mounted on microsatellites, imposes a critical constraint on the photovoltaic system. For this reason it is mandatory to extract the maximum possible power by the solar arrays on-board microsatellites. A system capable to extract the maximum power from solar arrays in any operative condition, seems a very attractive way to design the power subsystem of a microsatellite. In this paper the analysis of a MPPT (maximum peak power tracking) system designed for UNISAT-3 microsatellite photovoltaic arrays is discussed. The microsatellite is entirely designed and developed from students researchers and professors of the Gruppo di Astrodinamica dell’Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” (G.A.U.S.S.). MPPT can also improve the system reliability, as shown by experiments performed using a damaged solar panel. A MPPT flying unit has been realized and it is currently being tested in orbit, on board UNISAT-3.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
