Power - Satellite

 

The satellite portion of our mission will utilize a combination of solar panels and batteries for power. The main source of power for the satellite will be the solar panels and the batteries will be used as backup. The satellite only requires 300W to power all of the electornics and communications. Thus, we will use two panels, that are 1m², such as the one shown below:


Each of these panels are capable of producing 300 W/m² giving us a large buffer of power in case of eclipses, panel failure, or shadows from the dishes.

In addition to solar panels, the satellite witll use nickle-cadmium batteries (NiCd) for backup and excess power storage. These batteries will be charged by the excess power produced by the solar panels.