Power System Performance of the SOHO Spacecraft During the 1998 Attitude Recovery

This paper will highlight the electrical power system topology and basic performance of the SOHO mission during the first two years of its operation. It will go on to relate the chronology of spacecraft and power system events that occurred from the initial loss of SOHO contact in June 1998, up until the time of its attitude recovery some three months later. It will describe the operational modes of the power system during this critical period and the fundamental lessons learnt, which could enhance recovery prospects in the event that other missions experience a similar anomaly.