Electrical Power Systems
Electrical power systems for CubeSats and SmallSats.
Custom development
We design solar power interfaces, battery electronics, power converters and protected distribution units. Compact integrated EPS boards and modular SmallSat architectures are developed around the mission power profile.
- Solar array interfaces
- Battery management
- Protected power distribution
Key features
Solar power and conversion
- Multiple solar-array inputs with independently controlled maximum power point tracking.
- Input isolation and reverse-current blocking between array strings.
- Power conversion matched to battery voltage and spacecraft distribution rails.
- Regulated and battery-referenced outputs for spacecraft and payload equipment.
- Converter soft start, transient control and source/load stability analysis.
- Electrical interfaces for body-mounted and deployable solar arrays.
Battery management
- Charge control matched to the selected cell chemistry and pack configuration.
- Cell-voltage and pack-current monitoring.
- Cell balancing, temperature sensing and heater control.
- Overcharge, deep-discharge, overcurrent and temperature protection.
- Battery state estimation, energy accounting and aging allowances.
- Autonomous low-energy recovery independent of normal OBC operation.
- Battery disconnect, ground charging and integration-test interfaces.
Distribution and protection
- Individually switched load channels with voltage, current and temperature telemetry.
- Current limiting, short-circuit protection and fault isolation.
- Configurable trip thresholds, retry policies and controlled load restoration.
- Inrush management for capacitive loads and high-power equipment.
- Priority load shedding and essential-load preservation.
- Hardware watchdog and independent supervisory functions.
- Deployment switch, remove-before-flight and separation-event interfaces.
- Controlled release and heater outputs with defined inhibits.
Interface and configuration options
| Area | Design options |
|---|---|
| EPS architecture | Integrated CubeSat EPS or separate power conditioning, battery management and distribution units |
| Array inputs | Selected number of MPPT channels and array string arrangements |
| Power rails | Regulated rails such as 3.3 V, 5 V, 12 V or 28 V, plus battery-referenced outputs |
| Load channels | Channel count, current limits, telemetry, switching and priority groups |
| Battery | Pack voltage, series/parallel arrangement, capacity, balancing and heater zones |
| Command links | CAN, CAN FD, RS-422/RS-485 or board-level control interfaces |
| Telemetry | Array, battery, converter and load-channel health data |
| Safety and inhibits | Ground handling, launch inhibits, separation inputs and deployment sequencing |
| Redundancy | Selected redundant controllers, distribution paths and cross-strapped loads |
| Mechanical format | Stackable CubeSat boards, custom packs and enclosed SmallSat units |
Voltage, current and energy ratings are established for the selected configuration, not for every option shown above.
CubeSat and SmallSat configurations
Compact CubeSat systems combine functions where board area, harness mass and volume dominate. SmallSat systems separate conditioning, storage and distribution where channel count, power, thermal paths or redundancy require it.
Verification
Programmable sources, battery simulators and electronic loads exercise regulation, MPPT, charge control and distribution. Verification covers source transitions, load steps, shorts, communication loss, low-energy recovery and operation across the required temperature envelope.
Delivery
Power hardware, control firmware, electrical schematics at the interface level, operating limits, configuration data and verification records are prepared for spacecraft integration. Propulsion-specific RF, grid and discharge supplies are covered by our Power Processing & Thruster Electronics capability.