This second edition of Spacecraft Power Systems is a comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals, design trades, components, controls, and operations of spacecraft power systems based on the real-world design and operations of spacecraft that have successfully flown for decades. It also includes emerging high-voltage, high-power systems for in-space propulsion for interplanetary travel. With new and updated chapters, sections, and discussions, the second edition covers up-to-date high-voltage, MW-scale electric propulsion, updated PV and battery systems, spacecraft power components, power electronics, and their architectures and operations. This book also presents the latest in spacecraft design processes and trades, controls, operations, and protection. This book is intended for senior undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical, aerospace, and electrical engineering taking courses in Space Systems, Space Engineering, and Spacecraft Power Systems, as well as for practicing aerospace and power engineers and managers who are designing, developing, and operating spacecraft power systems.

This book provides an introduction to the main design principles, methods, procedures, and development trends in spacecraft power systems. It is divided into nine chapters, the first of which covers the classification and main components of primary power system design and power distribution system design. In turn, Chapters 2 to 4 focus on the spacecraft power system design experience and review the latest typical design cases concerning spacecraft power systems in China. More specifically, these chapters also introduce readers to the topological structure and key technologies used in spacecraft power systems. Chapters 5 to 7 address power system reliability and safety design, risk analysis and control, and in-orbit management in China’s spacecraft engineering projects. The book’s closing chapters provide essential information on new power systems and technologies, such as space nuclear power, micro- and nano-satellite power systems, and space energy interconnection systems. An outlook on future development trends rounds out the coverage.

Spacecraft Power Technologies is the first comprehensive text devoted to the technologies critical to the development of spacecraft electrical power systems. The science and engineering of solar, chemical, and nuclear systems are fully examined together with the constraints imposed by the space and thermal environments in which the systems must operate. Details of present technology and the history that led to the current state-of-the-art are presented at a level appropriate for the student as a textbook or the practicing engineer as a reference.

Spacecraft require electrical energy. This energy must be available in the outer reaches of the solar system where sunlight is very faint. It must be available through lunar nights that last for 14 days, through long periods of dark and cold at the higher latitudes on Mars, and in high-radiation fields such as those around Jupiter. Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are the only available power source that can operate unconstrained in these environments for the long periods of time needed to accomplish many missions, and plutonium-238 (238Pu) is the only practical isotope for fueling them. Plutonium-238 does not occur in nature. The committee does not believe that there is any additional 238Pu (or any operational 238Pu production facilities) available anywhere in the world.The total amount of 238Pu available for NASA is fixed, and essentially all of it is already dedicated to support several pending missions-the Mars Science Laboratory, Discovery 12, the Outer Planets Flagship 1 (OPF 1), and (perhaps) a small number of additional missions with a very small demand for 238Pu. If the status quo persists, the United States will not be able to provide RPSs for any subsequent missions.

In the past decade, the field of small satellites has expanded the space industry in a powerful way. Hundreds, indeed thousands, of these innovative and highly cost-efficient satellites are now being launched from Earth to establish low-cost space systems. These smallsats are engaged in experiments and prototype testing, communications services, data relay, internet access, remote sensing, defense and security related services, and more. Some of these systems are quite small and are simple student experiments, while others in commercial constellations are employing state-of-the-art technologies to deliver fast and accurate services. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of this exciting new field. It covers the technology, applications and services, design and manufacture, launch arrangements, ground systems, and economic and regulatory arrangements surrounding small satellites. The diversity of approach in recent years has allowed for rapid innovation and economic breakthroughs to proceed at a pace that seems only to be speeding up. In this reference work, readers will find information pertaining to all aspects of the small satellite industry, written by a host of international experts in the field.

Vehicular Electric Power Systems: Land, Sea, Air, and Space Vehicles acquaints professionals with trends and challenges in the development of more electric vehicles (MEVs) using detailed examples and comprehensive discussions of advanced MEV power system architectures, characteristics, and dynamics. The authors focus on real-world applications and highlight issues related to system stability as well as challenges faced during and after implementation. Probes innovations in the development of more electric vehicles for improved maintenance, support, endurance, safety, and cost-efficiency in automotive, aerospace, and marine vehicle engineering Heralding a new wave of advances in power system technology, Vehicular Electric Power Systems discusses: Different automotive power systems including conventional automobiles, more electric cars, heavy-duty vehicles, and electric and hybrid electric vehicles Electric and hybrid electric propulsion systems and control strategies Aerospace power systems including conventional and advanced aircraft, spacecraft, and the international space station Sea and undersea vehicles The modeling, real-time state estimation, and stability assessment of vehicular power systems Applications of fuel cells in various land, sea, air, and space vehicles Modeling techniques for energy storage devices including batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaic cells, and ultracapacitors Advanced power electronic converters and electric motor drives for vehicular applications Guidelines for the proper design of DC and AC distribution architectures