Hindawi

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

Volume 2018, Article ID 2515036, 13 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2515036

Research Article
Design of Modular Power Management and Attitude Control
Subsystems for a Microsatellite

Anwar Ali ,1 Shoaib Ahmed Khan,2 M. Usman Khan,2 Haider Ali ,1 M. Rizwan Mughal,3,4
and Jaan Praks4
1
Electrical Technology Department, University of Technology (UoT), Nowshera, Pakistan
2
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences Peshawar Campus, Pakistan
3
Department of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
4
Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 AALTO,
02150 Espoo, Finland

Correspondence should be addressed to Anwar Ali; safi[email protected]

Received 16 February 2018; Accepted 29 August 2018; Published 17 December 2018

Academic Editor: Jeremy Straub

Copyright © 2018 Anwar Ali et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Electric Power System (EPS) and attitude control system (ACS) are the essential components of any satellite. EPS and ACS
efficiency and compactness are substantial for the proper operation and performance of the satellite’s entire mission life. So,
realizing the significance of EPS and ACS subsystems for any satellite, they have been assimilated and developed in modular
forms focusing on efficiency and compactness. The EPS is comprised of three modules called the solar panel module (SPM),
power conditioning module (PCM), and power distribution module (PDM) while the ACS has an embedded magnetorquer coil.
For compactness and miniaturization purposes, the magnetorquer coil is embedded inside the SPM. The components used are
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components emphasizing on their power efficiency, small dimensions, and weight. Latch-up
protection systems have been designed and analyzed for CMOS-based COTS components, in order to make them suitable for
space radioactive environment. The main design features are modularity, redundancy, power efficiency, and to avoid single
component failure. The modular development of the EPS and ACS helps to reuse them for future missions, and as a result, the
overall budget, development, and testing time and cost are reduced. A specific satellite mission can be achieved by reassembling
the required subsystems.

1. Introduction whole lifecycle of a satellite on a real situation and develop

their capabilities in the space sector. Due to mentioned facts,
Many universities around the world are working on various small satellites have been considered a vital technology by
projects of small satellites [1–6]. These satellites are classified many space mission experts.
into various categories on the basis of their mass and dimen- The number of student-built small satellites is rapidly
sions, i.e., pico, nano, and micro. The main driving force growing, specifically in Europe and in North America. The
for the development of small satellites is their low budget list of the number of universities working on satellite projects
requirement, short development time, low mass and size, is too long, and it is impossible to mention all of them here.
new technology, and because they provide more cost- But some of the universities that are particularly moving
effective and reliable access to space [7]. Small satellites are the small satellite industry forward and working on very nice
designed for low earth orbit (LEO); therefore, launching cost projects are mentioned here. From the United States of
is also comparatively low. Small satellites can provide an ideal America, the significant contribution is from Cal Poly and
testbed to innovative technologies (e.g., hardware and soft- Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of
ware) which can be further used in large and expensive space Texas, Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
missions. University satellite programs teach students the nology, Colorado University Boulder, Santa Clara University,
2 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

Solar panel Power conditioning Power distribution

module module module

Satettlite subsystems
(SPM) (PCM) (PDM)
CAN CAN CAN CAN
bus bus bus bus
Satellite
on-board
computer
(OBC)

Power bus
Data bus

Figure 1: Block diagram of EPS subsystems.

Arizona State University, and many more [8, 9]. From tasks, the whole EPS is subdivided into three modules
Europe, the contribution worth mentioning is from the called the solar panel module (SPM), power conditioning
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Aalborg University, module (PCM), and power distribution module (PDM).
Technical University of Denmark, Norwegian University This modular design approach is not only cost effective
of Technology and Science (NTNU), University of Wurz- because the design, development, and testing costs are
burg, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Delft Univer- shared among these modules but also time saving because
sity of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of the parallel development approach rather than the clas-
(EPFL), Budapest University of Technology and Economics, sical serial one [13–16]. In addition, the modular design
University of Montpellier II, Warsaw University of Technol- extensively results in overall cost reduction because the cost
ogy, Sapienza University of Technology, University of Vigo, is shared among many modules that can be used several
Polytechnic University of Turin, Berlin Technical University, times in other missions.
the Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences, Each module offers standardized power and data inter-
and a lot of other institutions. In Asia, the main contributing faces. A block diagram of the EPS subsystems is depicted
universities are from Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, in Figure 1.
and India [9]. The SPM is responsible for the power generation of
Keeping in view the significance of small satellites, the PNSS-1. Four solar panels are attached on the outside
Pakistan National Space and Upper Atmospheric Research periphery of the satellite accountable for power generation.
Corporation (SUPARCO) has framed the Pakistan National One solar panel generates sufficient power to meet the power
Student Satellite (PNSS) program [10]. This program will needs of the complete satellite. The SPM output power is not
involve the local universities and industry in collaboration constant and has variable voltage and current levels depend-
with SUPARCO for the development and launching of small ing on solar power density and environment factors. The
satellites into space. In this program, PNSS-1 is the first small power conditioning module (PCM) converts this unstable
satellite that will be deployed into space. Universities are part SPM output voltage to a stable PDB voltage level. The PCM
of the designing process of the satellite. The main aim of this operates the solar panels at its maximum power point
work is to design and analyze modular EPS and ACS for the (MPP) to harvest maximum power. For this purpose, the
PNSS-1 satellite which has a size of 50 cm3 with 50 kg mass PCM has four Maximum Power Point Tracking- (MPPT-)
and one-year service life [11]. based converters. Each converter is connected to four solar
The EPS is responsible for fulfilling the power needs of panels on the input side and regulates the battery charge
the entire satellite. The paper proposes a novel approach and discharge on the MPPT scheme on the output side.
to design and elegantly interconnect the EPS subsystems The functional requirements of the PCM are to generate
of a modular small satellite [12]. In the proposed modular the PDB for the spacecraft at 28 V ± 6 V from raw power
design technique, the EPS is divided into small modules available from four body-mounted solar panels. The input
that are designed and developed independently and are voltage of the PCM may vary from 40 V to 80 V. The PCM
attached together to attain the intended results. The major is connected with the satellite onboard computer (OBC)
subsystems of the EPS are the solar panel subsystem, con- through redundant CAN buses. It has an interface with all
version of the solar panel power to the power distribution of the power sources (i.e., solar panels and battery) and out-
bus (PDB) level subsystem, and conversion of the unregu- puts the PDB to the power distribution module (PDM). The
lated PDB voltage level into various low voltage levels PDM converts the PDB voltage level into lower specific volt-
required for operation of the satellite subsystem compo- age levels and distributes them to loads as per their require-
nents. The EPS also has a subsystem to store the excess ments [17]. The PDM also has the EMI filtration as well as
generated power into onboard batteries and extract power different protections on each distribution line in order to
from them during satellite night and solar eclipses. Differ- limit the electromagnetic noise on the main bus and prevent
ent housekeeping sensors are embedded in the EPS sub- fault propagation. The ON/OFF switching of all switchable
systems to monitor and ensure the proper operation of loads is also implemented inside the PDM. These switches
the complete satellite. To perform all the abovementioned are controllable through telecommands. The complete design
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 3

of the specific module is discussed in the respective section of Table 1: GaAs triple-junction solar cell characteristics.
this paper, in detail.
The ACS of the PNSS-1 is responsible for attitude control Type GalnP2 /GaAs/Ge
as is obvious from its name. The ACS is responsible for Cell dimension 39.8 mm × 60.4 mm
orienting the satellite solar panels for harvesting maximum Short circuit current density J sc,mA/cm2 17.67
solar power and the satellite antenna toward ground station Open circuit voltage V oc,mV 2700
antennas. For the attitude control of small satellites, three
types of systems are normally used, i.e., permanent magnet, Maximum power point current density
J mp,mA/cm2 17.13
reaction wheel, and magnetic rods. All the three systems have
their pros and cons. For example, the permanent magnet is Maximum power point voltage vmp,mV 2396
inexpensive, but its weight and pointing accuracy makes it
Fill factor (FF) 0.86
incompatible with small satellites. Reaction wheels and mag-
netic rods are more precise, but their high price, greater Efficiency (η) 30%
weight, and large size are unacceptable for small satellites. Change in open circuit voltage per degree
change in temperature ΔV oc /ΔT −5.589 mV/°C
In this paper, an innovative concept of an embedded magne-
torquer coil is presented for the attitude control of small sat- Change in maximum power point voltage per
ellites. The magnetorquer coil comprises four subcoils degree change in temperature ΔV mp /ΔT −5.964 mV/°C
embedded inside the four internal layers of an eight-layer
PCB of the SPM module. This innovative design not only
reduces cost and size of the magnetorquer unit but also
results in an almost weightless system. string arrays will be used for the solar panel design. The effi-
The paper is organized according to the following ciency of the solar cell array is always less than the sum of
sequence. Section 1 provides the EPS introduction and Sec- individual cells because of the manufacturing issues and
tion 2 describes the design and analysis of the SPM subsys- environmental factors, collectively called as the degradation
tem. Section 3 discusses the design description of PCM factor [20]. For the solar panel design calculations, it is essen-
subsystems according to general constraints and explains in tial to take into account the degradation factor. The data of
detail the design and simulations of a wide range input the required triple-junction GaAs solar cell for this design
MPPT-based buck converter. Section 4 describes the design is given in Table 1.
details of the PDM, while the last, Section 5, discusses the For calculation of the minimum voltage limit of a single
results and conclusions. solar cell, the maximum temperature limit is applied, because
as the temperature increases above the standard test condi-
2. Solar Panel Module tions (STC), i.e., 25°C, the voltage reduces per degree rise in
temperature. Let us assume that the maximum temperature
Selecting the correct power ratings for the SPM is the most is 85°C. Difference between maximum temperature and
important aspect of the photovoltaic (PV) system design for STC is 60°C which will reduce the single cell minimum volt-
a microsatellite. The inappropriate string size will result in age to V min = 2 396 + 60 × −5 94 × 10−3 = 2 038 V where
many problems. Choosing a small string size will result in −5.94 × 10−3 is the change in open circuit voltage per degree
small efficiency. Selecting a large string size will damage the change in temperature ΔV oc /ΔT as given in Table 1. After
converter and the associated equipment [18]. Solar cells can applying the degradation factor of 0.85, the resultant mini-
be connected in any fashion, i.e., series or parallel. Series con- mum voltage for the single cell becomes 1.732 V.
nections increase the voltage with the current kept constant For upper voltage limit calculation, minimum operat-
while parallel connections increase the current of the string ing temperature is considered. Let us assume that the mini-
with the voltage remaining constant. Calculating the string mum temperature is −45°C. Difference between minimum
size, the relationship between ambient temperature and temperature and STC is −70°C which will increase the single
string voltage must be taken into consideration. Ambient cell maximum voltage to V max = 2 396 + −70 × −5 589 ×
temperature has adverse effect on PV array voltage output. 10−3 = 3 09 V where −5.589 × 10−3 is the change in MPP
Low temperatures result in increases to output voltage while voltage per degree change in temperature ΔV mp /ΔT as
high temperatures decrease string voltage. Proper and accu- given in Table 1. After applying the degradation factor of
rate power analysis is essential to compute the power ratings 0.85, the resultant maximum voltage becomes 2.63 V.
for efficient SPM design [19]. From the degradation analysis given above, we can find
Triple-junction GaAs solar cells are selected for the the minimum and maximum number of cells required to
solar panel design of PNSS-1. The single cell has a maxi- achieve the upper and lower voltage limits. The maximum
mum power point voltage (V mp ) of 2396 mV and short cir- number of the solar cell limit is found by dividing the
cuit current density (J SC ) of 17.67 mA/cm2 which gives upper voltage limit with the single cell maximum voltage,
0.42 A current. According to the PNSS-1 solar panel design i.e., 80 V/2 63 V = 31, while the minimum number of the
requirement, a single solar panel should generate at least required cell limit is found by dividing the lower voltage limit
50 W with maximum output voltage of 80 V and minimum with the single cell minimum voltage, i.e., 40 V/1 73 V = 23.
voltage should not be less than 40 V under normal sunlight After applying the degradation factor, the single cell out-
conditions at sun incidence angle of 5°. It means that multiple put current is 0.36 A.
4 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

100 mm
Ø3.8 Ø3.8

PCU-1 PCU-2 PCU-3 PCU-4 Batteries_Charger PCU_OutPut_DB9

CAN_DB9
_DB9 connector connector

Power distribution MPPT PCU

Primary power bus bus (PDB) PCU2,PCU3,PUC4 boost converter, controller,
Solar panel

150 mm
over voltage latch-up
MPPT Current Power protection, protection and
Current Load temperature,
Solar panel switching sensor distribution auxiliary
sensor switch

8.3
converter unit current & voltage components
sensors
Solar panel
Voltage
Voltage 1.6
sensor 6.4
Solar panel sensor 4 SolarPanel
6.6
9.0 _DB15
10.8 Ø3.8
9.15 3.2 Ø3.8
(0,0)
Bi 3.2
Anti-latch-up Directional
protection current Components
PCU sensor
controller
Temperature Layer-1

1.6 mm
+ 0.4 mm Layer-2
sensor Batteries
− Layer-3
CAN-1 CAN-2 Layer-4

Ground planes

(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) PCM block diagram and (b) PCB dimensions.

According to the design requirements, the average output battery charging, and health monitoring of different PCM
power from the solar panel should not be less than 50 W. subsystems. A MPPT-based buck converter is designed and
The power analysis shows that minimum required power simulated to operate the solar panel at its MPP. To achieve
is 40 W and maximum required power is 60 W. Single cell maximum power point, the MPPT buck converter can be
average output power is 0.78 W. The solar panel has dimen- designed using different MPPT algorithms. Most common
sions of 470 mm × 450 mm, and single cell dimensions are algorithms for recognition of MPP are the constant voltage
39.8 mm × 60.4 mm. It means that a maximum of 87 solar method [21], short-current pulse method [22], open voltage
cells can be accommodated on the solar panel. Excluding method [23], perturb and observe method [24], and incre-
the area required for the sun sensor, temperature sensor, mental conductance method [25]. These seven MPPT algo-
and bypass diodes, the total number of cells that can be rithms are examined and evaluated on the basis of
accommodated on the solar panel is 64. These cells are efficiency [26]. The perturb and observe method shows the
divided into two strings; each has 32 solar cells connected best result and better efficiency as compared to others [27,
in series. The average voltage of the single cell is 2.18 V and 28]; therefore, this algorithm is chosen for the PCM MPPT
maximum numbers of solar cells are 32 which result in aver- design. Batteries are charged and discharged from the PDB
age output voltage and current of 69 V and 0.72A, respec- through a battery charging system. The PCM controller is
tively. The resultant output power after applying all the used to perform the power management and control opera-
degradation factors is 50 W. A bypass diode is connected in tions of the entire unit. It communicates with the OBC of
parallel to each solar cell which ensures proper operation of the satellite using redundant CAN buses. PCM casing dimen-
the single cell if one of them is damaged. A protection diode sions and input/output power/signal have standardized con-
is added at the end of each string of 32 solar cells to protect it nectors which result in a fully modular system that can be
from reverse current flow. attached and detached as a separate unit to the rest of the sat-
For the SPM to operate within its temperature limits, a ellite subsystems. Figure 2(a) shows the conceptual-level
glass-protected NTC (negative temperature coefficient) block diagram of the PCM subsystem while Figure 2(b)
thermistor is mounted onto the solar panel for protection shows the PCB dimensions of the PCM. Casing dimensions
against transient voltage spikes. Output voltage of the sensor of the PCM are shown in Figure 3.
is linearly proportional to temperature. Its resistance range
varies between 2.2 k and 100 k, which is highly accurate with 3.1. PCM Design Description. The PCM consists of four mod-
1% of tolerance. ular and redundant MPPT units and CAN controller. Each
MPPT unit has a local microcontroller (MSP430) to which
3. Power Conditioning Module (PCM) different subsystems like MPPT switching converter, current,
voltage, and temperature sensors are connected. These con-
The PCM is responsible for converting solar panels’ unstable trollers are CMOS-based COTS components which are
voltage (40 V~80 V) into a stable voltage level delivered to the prone to radiation. In order to protect them from radiation
PDB (28 ± 6 V). It is also responsible for voltage regulation, damage, a latch-up protection system is designed for the
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 5

110 mm

16 0 mm
Outlet for the CAN
connector-1

50 mm
Outlet for the CAN
connector-1
Outlet for the power
Inlet for the solar panel distribution bus (PDB)
connector connector

Figure 3: Casing dimensions of the PCM.

MPPT based buck MPPT based buck

PCM output to
converter unit-1 converter unit-4

PDM
Output to
batteries

PCM input from SPM

PCM main
MPPT based buck controller
converter unit-2 MPPT based buck
converter unit-3

Figure 4: PCM complete schematic.

PCM unit. The four MPPT controllers (MSP430) and CAN MPP in that direction by increasing the duty cycle; otherwise,
controller (PIC24HJ256GP10) are communicating with each if the power levels are same, it is the maximum power point
other through SPI protocol while the CAN microcontroller is [27]. Current, voltage, and temperature sensors ensure
communicating with the OBC of the satellite through an proper voltage, current, and temperature limits of the solar
embedded CAN transceiver system having redundant CAN panel output and on the PDB level. One set of voltage and
buses. A schematic of the PCM is shown in Figure 4. current sensors is connected at the output of the solar panel
In the PCM design, the perturb and observe algorithm is (input of the buck converter) in all four redundant MPPT
opted to continuously locate the maximum power point and units, and a second set of current and voltage sensors is con-
extract maximum power from the solar panels connected nected at the output of the buck converter. A bidirectional
with it. The P&O algorithm works by continuously calculat- current sensor is employed at the input of batteries to moni-
ing the power (current and voltage) from PV arrays and com- tor the battery charging and discharging currents. Latch-up
paring it with preceding calculated power values. If there is a protection and watchdog timer blocks protect the MPPT
difference and the power calculated from the current cycle is local controller of each unit from single-event latch-ups. A
greater than the previous cycle, the controller moves the single MPPT buck converter unit is shown in Figure 5.
6 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

MPPT based buck converter

Current sensor

Voltage sensor

MPPT local controller

Latch-up protection circuit

Watchdog timer

Figure 5: Single MPPT buck converter unit.

3.2. Latch-Up Protection System. MPPT local controller units voltage across the C1 capacitor, and V (C1:1) indicates the
of PCM are CMOS-based COTS devices which are sensitive microcontroller pin voltage. In waveforms, the normal oper-
to radiation [29]. A latch is a momentary effect in which ation state is shown from time 0 to 4 ms and 8 ms to 12 ms.
the device gets short circuited and high current flows through During latch-up, the microcontroller pin, which is repre-
the device from the power supply to ground which damages sented in the simulation circuit by V3, will be grounded
the device. The latch-up problem can be solved by using and capacitor C1 will discharge. As a result of the C1 dis-
bipolar devices, which are immune to latch-up because they charge, M1 and M2 will switch off and supply to the micro-
require an extremely high energy to trigger this event. But controller VCC pin will cut off. The off state is shown in
the microcontrollers are CMOS-based and require latch-up the simulation waveform from time 4 ms to 8 ms and 12 ms
protection circuits. To avoid this condition, the microcon- to 16 ms. The off state time duration is decided by the RC
troller supply should be disconnected on a temporary basis. time constant of C1 and R4 components of the simulation
A latch-up protection circuit was designed and simulated to circuit. At the moment, we have chosen it to be 4 ms as seen
cut off the microcontroller supply during latch-up to protect from the simulation waveform of Figure 6(b). The imple-
the device from damage. The simulations of the latch-up mented latch-up protection circuit is shown in Figure 5.
protection circuit designed for the PCM are shown in
Figure 6, where V1 is the microcontroller supply voltage con-
3.3. Data Interface. The PCM has a dual redundant CAN
nected with the microcontroller VCC pin, through MOSFET
interface with OBC for all telemetries and all of its telecom-
M2 and M1 switching. V3 is the voltage coming from the
mands using DB9 connectors. It provides sufficient teleme-
microcontroller pin. In normal operation condition, C1 is
tries (on CAN interface) in order to monitor the health of
charged through R4 from the supply V2 and MOSFET M1
its own along with the health of all solar panels and battery.
is ON, which further keeps M2 ON, and the voltage sup-
Telemetries of the PCM include the following at minimum:
ply V1 = 5 V is connected with the microcontroller VCC
pin. Figure 6(b) shows the waveforms of the latch-up protec-
(1) Primary bus voltage
tion circuit of Figure 6(a). The waveform V (R3:2) shows
the microcontroller supply voltage, V (M1:g) represents the (2) Primary bus current
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 7

IRF9140 10V
+ M2
5Vdc V1 R1
− R2 R3 1 V
50k 2k 5V
− M1
5Vdc + V2 IRF150
R4 0V
1k
C1 D1
V1 = 0 4u D1N4148
V2 = 5 V V
TD = 0 V3 R5 −5V
TR = 1n + 0s 2 ms 4 ms 6 ms 8 ms 10 ms 12 ms 14 ms 16 ms
TF = 1n − 2k
PW = 4m
PER = 8m V (R3:2)
V (R4:1)
V (C1:1)
(a) (b)

Figure 6: Latch-up protection simulation (a) circuit and (b) waveforms.

(3) Battery charge and discharge current

.param D = 0.46
(4) Battery temperature D1 C1
.param Ts = 5u
.tran 4ms startup
(5) Output current of each solar panel VCC 1N5819 1𝜇
+ Vin
(6) Voltage of each solar panel Q1 +
− Boost
5 −
Vcc TG IRF7468 61
(7) Temperature of each solar panel U1
L1
The PCM collects analog temperature telemetries from Tinp TS
Q2 100𝜇 C2
RL
each solar panel and battery, and it provides these teleme- LTC4444-5
Binp BG IRF7468 4𝜇 10
tries (along with all other telemetries) to the OBC on the
V2 GND
CAN interface. +
− ⁎
3.4. Power Interface. PCM receives 2 : 1 redundant input V4 PULSE (0 5 0 1n 1n {D Ts} {Ts})
+
power lines separately from four independent solar panels − ⁎
through the DB9 connector and provides 2 : 1 redundant out- PULSE (0 5 0 1n 1n {D Ts} {Ts})
put lines for battery charging as well as to PDM at bus voltage
level using DB9 connectors. A gap of at least one unused pin Figure 7: Simulation schematic of MPPT buck converter.
is kept between positive power lines and their returns in all
power interface connectors (for both input and output). To
ensure modularity, all output connectors are female type The LTspice simulation schematic of the buck converter
and input connectors are male type. with its driver circuitry is shown in Figure 7. The four MPPT
3.5. Simulations of MPPT Buck Converter. The output range buck converters are mounted on two PCBs, i.e., each PCB has
of the solar panel is 40 V~80 V as mentioned earlier. To cover two buck converter units. In order to avoid synchronization
this wide range input voltage to a stable output voltage, an problem, 10 kHz frequency gap is kept between all four
MPPT buck converter is designed with wide range input. converters. The designed frequency for the 1st MPPT con-
First, design considerations are made to select the appropri- verter unit is 180 kHz, while the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th converters
ate values of filter components, i.e., inductor, capacitor, and have 190 kHz, 200 kHz, and 210 kHz switching frequencies,
resistor for an efficient and robust MPPT buck converter. respectively. All the components are selected on the basis of
The values selected according to the design consideration power loss analysis and small dimensions.
are assigned to all devices shown in Figure 7. The standard The two pulses V2 and V4 in Figure 7 represent the
equations (1) and (2) are used for inductor (L) and capacitor PWM signals coming from the microcontroller to increase
(C) value selection [30], respectively. or decrease the duty cycle according to the perturb and
observe algorithm. The converter is simulated for a wide
input voltage range, i.e., 80 V, 70 V, 61 V, 50 V, and 41 V,
Vs − Vo × D and the respective output voltage is measured which is the
L= , 1
ΔI L × f PDB voltage level (28 ± 6 V). The output current, input and
output powers, and resultant efficiency are measured for
the four designed buck converter units. The simulations of
1−D
C= 2 the MPPT buck converter are given in Figures 8–17, and sim-
8L × ΔV o /V o × f 2 ulation results are summarized in Table 2.
8 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

100 8
90 6
80
4
70

Current (A)
Voltage (V)

60 2
50 0
40 −2
30
−4
20
10 −6
0 −8
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
Time (ms) Time (ms)
Output from solar panel Output current from buck converter
Buck converter output Buck converter switching current

Figure 8: Input and output voltage waveforms of the MPPT buck Figure 11: Input and output current waveforms for 70 V input.
converter for 80 V input.
80
8 70
6 60

Voltage (V)
4 50
Current (A)

2 40
0 30
−2 20
−4 10
−6 0
−8 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 Time (ms)
Time (ms)
Output from solar panel
Output current of buck converter Buck converter output
Buck converter switching current
Figure 12: Waveforms of input and output voltage for 61 V input.
Figure 9: Input and output current waveforms for 80 V input.
8
100 6
90
4
80
Current (A)

70 2
Voltage (V)

60 0
50 −2
40
−4
30
20 −6
10 −8
0 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Time (ms)
Time (ms)
Output current of buck converter
Output from solar panel Buck converter switching current
Buck converter output
Figure 13: Input and output current waveforms for 61 V input.
Figure 10: Input and output voltage waveforms for 70 V input.

Simulation results shown in Table 2 clearly demonstrate the lower voltage levels and for distributing it to loads. EMI
that the designed MPPT buck converter has a wide input filtration is done by the PDM. There are certain protection
range and possesses high efficiency (95.30% to 96.75%). systems installed on each distribution line. The main purpose
of these protection systems is to limit the electromagnetic
noise produced on the main bus and also to overcome the
4. Power Distribution Module (PDM) fault propagation. Inside the PDM, there is implementation
of ON/OFF switching of all the switchable loads. With the
PDM is the submodule of the Electric Power System (EPS), help of telecommands, these switches are controlled from
responsible for the conversion of the PDB voltage level into the OBC. To overcome failure and to improve the reliability,
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 9

80 8
70 6
60 4

Current (A)
Voltage (V)

50 2
40 0
30 −2
20 −4
10 −6
0 −8
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
Time (ms) Time (ms)

Output from solar panel Output current of Buck converter

Buck converter output Buck converter switching current

Figure 14: Input and output voltage waveforms for 50 V input. Figure 17: Input and output current waveforms for 41 V input.

8
6 voltage, and temperature limitations. The PDM controller
4
further communicates with the OBC of the microsatellite
through redundant CAN buses. The block diagram of the
Current (A)

2
PDM is shown in Figure 18, and the design schematic is
0
shown in Figure 19.
−2
−4
4.1. Power Regulators. The power regulators convert the PDB
−6
voltage level to low voltage levels (i.e., 5 V and 12 V) used by
−8
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 different subsystem components. For this purpose, the PDM
Time (ms) unit requires two switching regulators. To meet the power
and redundancy requirement for 12 V regulated output, the
Output current of Buck converter
PDM has two redundant 12 V regulators with part number
Buck converter switching current
MGDD-20-R-E. For 5 V, four regulators with part number
Figure 15: Input and output current waveforms for 50 V input. MGDB-35-H-C are connected in parallel to meet the power
and redundancy requirements.
60
4.2. Power Interface. The PDM receives unregulated power
50
through the PDB from the PCM and regulates it according
40 to the requirement. For redundancy, the PDM receives 2 : 1
Voltage (V)

30
power lines from the PCM at 28 V ± 6 V. The PDM has a total
of 40 output lines of different voltage and current levels.
20 Some of these lines are pair switchable and some are non-
10 switchable as shown in Table 3.
All output distribution lines of the PDM are protected
0 against short circuit current and transient voltage spikes. A
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
protection concept is implemented in the PDM to avoid
Time (ms)
fault and failure propagation between the loads. All PDM
Output from solar panel subsystems are connected and intercommunicate with the
Buck converter output PDM controller (PIC24HJ256GP10) for monitoring and
Figure 16: Input and output voltage waveforms for 41 V input. controlling purposes.

4.3. Data Interface. The PDM has a dual redundant CAN

redundancy is provided at all levels. No single electrical com- interface with the OBC for all telemetries and all of its tele-
ponent failure in the PDU disables or degrades its required commands. With the help of the CAN interface, the OBC
functions in a way that may lead to mission failure. receives certain telemetries from the PDM in order to check
The power distribution unit receives primary power from all the switchable distribution lines as well as to monitor
the PCM at bus voltage 28 V ± 6 V (unregulated) and gener- the health of the primary and secondary voltages. In order
ates regulated secondary voltage levels at 12 V and 5 V. Cur- to control the ON/OFF operation of switchable lines, the
rent, voltage, and temperature sensors are mounted in the PDM has the capability of receiving telecommands through
PDM unit to monitor and ensure proper operation of the the CAN interface. Standard D-type connectors are used
module. The function of these sensors is to check current, for CAN buses.
10 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

Table 2: Simulation results of MPPT buck converter designed for PCM.

Input voltage Output voltage Duty cycle Input current Output current Input power Output power Efficiency
S. no
(Vin) (Vo) (D) (Iin) (Io) (Pin) (Po) (η)
1 80 V 27.33 V 0.35 0.981A 2.73A 78.28 W 74.61 W 95.30
2 70 V 27.36 V 0.40 1.11A 2.73A 77.50 W 74.69 W 96.37
3 61 V 27.45 V 0.46 1.28A 2.74A 77.87 W 75.21 W 96.58
4 50V 27.45 V 0.56 1.56A 2.74A 77.79 W 75.21 W 96.68
5 41 V 27.39 V 0.68 1.89A 2.73A 77.28 W 74.77 W 96.75

90 mm
Ø3.8 Ø3.8
DB9 DB9 DB9 DB9 DB9 DB9
connector connector connector connector connector connector
1 2 3 4 5 6

PDB(28±6V)
load switch

Connector-1
CAN/RS232
3.3V input 3.3V Regulators,
load switch regulator 3.3V output load switches, PCU controller,

120 mm
load switch housekeeping latch-up
Output of Current 5V input sensors protection
PCU (PDB-1) sensor 5V

Connector-2
load switch regulator

CAN/RS232
(current, and auxiliary
5V output
voltage & components

8.3
load switch
temperature)
Output of 12V input 12V Satellite
Current
PCU (PDB-2) load switch regulator subsystems
sensor 12V output 1.6
load switch 6.4
6.6
Latch-up 9.0
10.8 PDB-1 from PCU PDB-2 fromPCU Ø3.8
protection 9.15
5V/12V 3.2 Ø3.8
load switch (0,0)
3.2
Voltage
sensor PDU
Components
controller

Layer-1

1.6 mm
0.4 mm Layer-2
CAN-1 CAN-2 Layer-3
Layer-4
Ground planes

(a) (b)

Figure 18: (a) PDM block diagram and (b) PCB dimensions.

5. Attitude Control System (ACS) 5.1. PNSS-1 Embedded Magnetorquer Coil. The magnetor-
quer coil works on the motor action concept that when a cur-
Due to dimension and weight constraints of small satellites, rent carrying the coil is placed in a magnetic field, a torque is
designers are focusing on the miniaturization of subsystems exerted on the coil. The current-carrying coil generates a
such as power, attitude determination and control, telecom- magnetic moment which interacts with the already existing
munication, and payload. In the PNSS-1 attitude control magnetic field and produces torque. According to Fleming’s
subsystem design, the major aim was to achieve a system left-hand rule, the middle finger gives the direction of the
with small dimensions and weight. The available options magnetic moment, the index finger shows the direction of
for the attitude control were permanent magnets, reaction the existing magnetic field, and the thumb indicates the
wheels, and magnetic rods [31, 32]. Permanent magnets direction of exerted torque. Let us suppose the current-
are cheaper, simpler, and lightweight, but they have inade- carrying coil shown in Figure 20 with the magnetic moment
quate pointing accuracy. The other options were magnetic (D) generated is toward the page and is given by
rods and reaction wheels which have better pointing accu-
racy, but the problem is their price, weight, and size which D = N ⋅ S ⋅ I, 3
make them unsuitable for small satellites. To achieve the
goal of a miniaturized compatible system with PNSS-1, an where N is the number of turns of the coil, S is the area of the
innovative concept of an embedded magnetorquer is intro- coil, and I is the current flowing through the coil.
duced. The magnetorquer coil is copper traces embedded
If the magnetic field ( B ) direction is toward the right side
inside the internal layers of the solar panel PCB. Solar panel
of the paper, then the torque generated is toward the bottom
PCB is an eight-layer PCB with copper traces in five inter-
of the paper and can be found by
nal layers. These copper traces are just like the magnetor-
quer rod producing a magnetic field when current flows
through it. τ = D × B = DB sin θ n , 4
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 11

Current sensors &

switches on the 28V &
400mA 4 switchable
lines

PDM power interface connectors with PCM

Current sensors&
switches on the 28V &

and rest of the satellite subsystems

200mA 5 switchable
lines

Current & voltage

sensor on the input
28V PDB

Fuses on 12V 4 non-

switchable lines
12V redundant regulators Current sensors &
(MGDD-20-R-E) switches on the 5V
11 switchable lines

Fuses on 5V 9
5V redundant nonswitchable lines
regulators
(MGDB-35-H-C)

PDM local
controller
Watchdog
timer PDM local
controller
PDM redundant
CAN interface
Latch-up
with OBC
protection

Figure 19: Design schematic of PDM.

Table 3: Voltage distribution of switchable/nonswitchable lines.

No. of power lines Switchable/

𝜏 = maximum
→
S. no Voltage level
and current rating nonswitchable B I
D
1 28 V 4 lines at 400 mA each Switchable
2 28 V 5 lines at 200 mA each Switchable
3 12 V 3 lines at 400 mA each Nonswitchable I
4 12 V 4 lines at 400 mA each Switchable
5 12 V 1 line at 100 mA each Switchable
6 12 V 1 line at 100 mA each Nonswitchable
7 5V 2 lines at 2000 mA each Switchable Figure 20: Current-carrying coil in presence of magnetic field.
8 5V 8 lines at 800 mA each Nonswitchable
9 5V 6 lines at 800 mA each Switchable
modules with embedded magnetorquer coils are mounted
10 5V 1 line at 200 mA each Nonswitchable on the four external faces of the PNSS-1 satellite as shown
11 5V 5 lines at 200 mA each Switchable in Figure 21. When current flows through the coils, a mag-
netic moment is generated which interacts with the earth
magnetic field and a torque is exerted on the satellite to rotate
where n is the direction of torque τ and θ is the angle it in the desired direction.
between D and B . The coils are embedded in the five internal layers of
Earth is a big magnet, and in low earth orbit (LEO), from the solar panel PCB, i.e., the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th
400 km to 2000 km altitude, the earth magnetic field varies layers. These five coils are treated as individual coils and
between 0.15 gauss and 0.45 gauss [33]. Four solar panel attached through switches. By changing the arrangement
12 International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

0.2 mm Solar cells

Layer-1 1.8 mm
Layer-2 18 𝜇m

1.6 mm
Layer-3

0.2 mm

Layer-8
Magnetorquer coil traces Ground plane mm
450 mm 450

Figure 21: Solar panel module (PNSS-1) cross-sectional view with embedded magnetorquer.

4.5
specific number of input/output lines that meet the power
4 and data requirement of microsatellite subsystems. COTS
3.5 components were used for the subsystem implementation.
0.1×I(A), Pd(W), D(Am2)

The COTS components were selected on the basis of small

3 dimension, minimum weight, and low power consumption.
2.5 To avoid single component failure and increase the reliabil-
ity, certain subsystems and components were made redun-
2 dant in the design. To operate the solar panels at MPP and
1.5 extract maximum power from them, a wide range highly effi-
cient MPPT-based buck converter is designed and analyzed.
1 Each solar panel has a separate MPPT unit with a 10 kHz fre-
0.5 quency gap to avoid synchronization between them. To pro-
tect the CMOS-based controllers from radiation, a latch-up
0 protection system is designed and simulated. Different sen-
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
sors such as current, temperature, and voltage are mounted
Voltage (V)
at different locations on the respective modules to monitor
Current I in series and ensure proper operation of these units. For miniaturiza-
Power dissipated Pd in series tion purposes, an embedded magnetorquer is designed for
Magnetic moment D in series
the microsatellite which consumes reasonable power and
6× current I in parallel
10× power dissipated Pd in parallel
generates the required magnetic moment. In the end, an
3× magnetic moment D in parallel EPS for the microsatellite is achieved which is fully modular,
compact, redundant, and power efficient.
Figure 22: Voltage versus current, magnetic moment, and power
dissipated for four-coil combination (series/parallel).
Data Availability
of these switches, the five coils can be attached/detached in The data used to support the findings of this study are
different configurations such as a single coil, five in series, included within the article.
and five coils in parallel. According to the satellite torque
requirements, the magnetorquer coil should be able to gener- Conflicts of Interest
ate a specific magnetic field. To generate the required mag-
netic moment of PNSS-1, the magnetorquer coil composed The authors announce that there is no conflict of interest
of copper traces with 60 turns in each layer and a total of concerning the publication of this article.
300 turns is embedded in five internal layers. Each coil trace
has 1.8 mm width and 18 μm thickness. Space between two
adjacent traces is 0.2 mm.
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