HEX20 unveils redundant CubeSat solar power architecture

(SpaceEnergy) Satellite systems developer HEX20 has introduced a modular spacecraft solar-power architecture designed to prevent a single Maximum Power Point Tracking failure from disabling an entire CubeSat electrical power system.

Presented at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the architecture distributes power conditioning across multiple identical, autonomous Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) modules connected to shared photovoltaic and battery buses.

Conventional CubeSat architectures can route all harvested solar energy through one MPPT conversion stage, leaving the spacecraft vulnerable to complete power loss if that component fails.

HEX20’s proposed design instead regulates each module independently at a common photovoltaic operating point and uses reverse-current isolation at the outputs. The researchers said a single module failure would therefore reduce available power capacity rather than interrupting power delivery entirely.

The architecture also avoids digital communications between the power-conditioning modules, reducing dependence on radiation-sensitive communications electronics within the solar-energy harvesting chain.

The conference record lists HEX20 engineers Muhammed Syedali N., Anamika A. Kamath, Nithin Krishnan S. S. and colleagues as authors of the work.