The Venerable Converter: A New Approach to Power Processing

A regulating dc-to-dc converter is described which utilizes a new circuit configuration to achieve several desirable features including higher efficiency, a single circuit for regulation and conversion, minimized output filter requirements, and simplified control system applications. The dc operating characteristics are derived and the efficiency of the new converter is shown to compare favorably with the conventional boost regulator. An ac model is derived and a comparison is made between analytical and experimental results

Testing of Environmental Satellite Bus-Instrument Interfaces Using Engineering Models

This paper discusses the formulation and execution of a laboratory test of the electrical interfaces between multiple atmospheric science instruments and the spacecraft bus that carries them. The testing, performed in 2002, used engineering models of the instruments that will be flown on the Aura s p a c m and of the Aura spacecraft bus electronics. Aura is one of NASA's Earth Observing System @OS) Program missions managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center. The test was designed to evaluate the complex interfaces in the spacecraft and instrument command and data handling (C&DH) subsystems prior to integration of the complete flight instruments on the spacecraft. A problem discovered during (and not before) the flight hardware integration phase can cause significant cost and schedule impacts. The testing successfully surfaced problems and led to their resolution before the full-up integration phase, saving significant cost and schedule time. This approach could be used on future environmental satellite programs involving multiple, complex scientific instruments being integrated onto a bus