Power Management and Distribution Concept for Microsatellites and Nanosatellites

This paper reports on the development and demonstration of a unique distributed Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) architecture developed for the PowerSphere concept. The PowerSphere PMAD concept was conceived as a solution for providing adequate electric power from solar cells to power a Micro-satellite or Nano-satellite. The PMAD architectural concept developed for the PowerSphere accommodates its arbitrary orientation by unique features. The architecture has all of the individual power sources and storage devices connected in parallel to a regulated spacecraft power bus. This parallel connection is accomplished via a microelectronic dc-dc converter for each power or storage device. This direct connection eliminates the need for series connections of these devices to produce sufficient voltage to supply the bus.