Session
Session X: Lessons Learned
Abstract
The Starshine 3 satellite was put into orbit on September 30, 2001 as part of the Kodiak Star mission. Starshine 3’s primary mission is to measure the atmospheric density of the thermosphere and serve as a learning outreach tool for primary and secondary school age children. Starshine 3 also carries a power technology experiment. Starshine 3 has a small, 1 Watt power system using state-of-the-art components. Eight small clusters of solar cells are distributed across the surface. Each cluster consists of a 6-cell string of 2 cm x 2 cm, GaInP/GaAs/Ge, triple-junction solar cells. These cells have twice the power-to-area ratio as traditional silicon solar cells and 25% more power than GaAs cells. Starshine 3 also carries novel integrated microelectronic power supplies (IMPS). The idea behind an IMPS unit is to allow greater flexibility in circuit design with a power source not tied to a central bus. Each IPS is used to provide 50 microwatts of continuous power throughout the mission. Early results show that this design can be used to provide continuous power under very adverse operating conditions.
Results from the Advance Power Technology Experiment on the Starshine 3 Satellite
The Starshine 3 satellite was put into orbit on September 30, 2001 as part of the Kodiak Star mission. Starshine 3’s primary mission is to measure the atmospheric density of the thermosphere and serve as a learning outreach tool for primary and secondary school age children. Starshine 3 also carries a power technology experiment. Starshine 3 has a small, 1 Watt power system using state-of-the-art components. Eight small clusters of solar cells are distributed across the surface. Each cluster consists of a 6-cell string of 2 cm x 2 cm, GaInP/GaAs/Ge, triple-junction solar cells. These cells have twice the power-to-area ratio as traditional silicon solar cells and 25% more power than GaAs cells. Starshine 3 also carries novel integrated microelectronic power supplies (IMPS). The idea behind an IMPS unit is to allow greater flexibility in circuit design with a power source not tied to a central bus. Each IPS is used to provide 50 microwatts of continuous power throughout the mission. Early results show that this design can be used to provide continuous power under very adverse operating conditions.
