Peak Power Tracker

Southwest Research Institute is a recognized leader in providing high reliability spacecraft avionics for diverse mission applications ranging from low cost, responsive small and micro-satellite platforms to long duration deep-space systems.

Spacecraft electrical power system (EPS) expertise forms a core element of SwRI’s spacecraft avionics capabilities. These capabilities include battery management, direct energy transfer (DET) power systems and peak power tracking (PPT). For small spacecraft, peak power tracking is an enabling technology that maximizes spacecraft solar array performance providing enhanced spacecraft performance and capability. Additionally, the increased power conversion efficiency and power extraction performance of peak power tracking reduces solar array area and mass.

The SwRI peak power tracking extracts the maximum power from the solar array in a non-dissipative manner. Unlike direct energy transfer, where excess power is dissipated as heat, peak power tracking losses are due to conversion efficiency only. Maximum power transfer is achieved by matching the variable output conductance of the solar array with the variable input conductance of the spacecraft power converter.

Scalable, Configurable Peak Power Tracker Solutions

Scalable peak power tracking architectures support spacecraft electrical power needs from 50 to 1,500 watts
Up to 3 solar array inputs (up to 95V, 3A each)
Power conversion efficiencies of greater than 93%
Precision global peak detect algorithm with error performance of less than 2% RMS
On-orbit configuration including:
- Battery parameters
- Peak power tracking modes
- Global peak detect algorithm
Integrated controller for peak power tracking control algorithm, data collection and serial interface logic
Charge only direct-energy-transfer mode
“Wake from the dead” capability
Input EMI filtering

Related Services

Or call Larry McDaniel at +1 210 522 4694.