Spacecraft power systems generate, store, condition and distribute electricity for space missions of all types – ranging from launchers to interplanetary probes or the International Space Station. They must operate reliably throughout their missions. Recharging spacecraft millions of miles from Earth is impossible, so they must produce or store enough energy to last through decades…
No doubt modern smartphones are far more powerful than the computers used on Apollo missions, yet such comparisons underplay the amazing technology employed by NASA during these missions to get us there. MIT-designed Apollo Guidance Computer was crashproof, operating according to a hierarchical system which allocated energy based on program importance; this allowed energy distribution…
Space can be an unforgiving environment that challenges spacecraft to operate reliably for extended missions. Engineers develop power systems with redundancy in mind to reduce system failure risk that might jeopardize a mission. The main EPS inverters utilize 30 V DC from the maneuver booster regulator and convert it to the 2.4 kHz square wave…
Spaceflight Simulator is a game that allows you to engineer, plan and complete missions. You can build your own rockets, launch them and land them on all the planets in the Solar system. Each destination is modeled accurately in terms of gravity pull and atmospheric conditions. The large solar panel formerly generated electricity and was…
