Devices for land tests of systems of electric power of space machinery are being worked out in Tomsk

Scientists of the NRI of automation and electromechanics of the NRI AEM of Tomsk University of control and radio electronics systems are working out the 5th generation of imitators of accumulator and solar batteries used for working of systems of electric power of space machinery and land tests of space machinery on the whole.

“When we were making the first line, the life time of a space machinery was about 1,5-3 years. Today it can work for 15-29 years, therefore, requirements to test equipment have changed either: now a land test of space machinery goes on for a month and land systems must work for about 1000 hours without a hitch”, deputy director of the NRI AEM Sergey Batalov said, innovative portal Tomsk shared.

Imitators of accumulator batteries allow developers of systems of electric power of space machinery to imitate concrete conditions of an accumulator battery for a long time. The use of real accumulator batteries during land working offs of other systems of space machinery is also a difficult and expensive procedure and as a rule, after such tests accumulator batteries cannot be used for their intended purpose, fly in the composition of space machinery.

Imitators of solar batteries are used during tests of space machinery, because it is difficult and expensive to unroll real solar batteries in land conditions. Specialists of the NRI AEM of Tomsk University of control and radio electronics systems have been working out such equipment for 35 years- devices of the 4+ generation have already been working in Samara in the conditions of land tests of a small space machinery “Aist-2D”, the start of which is going to be at the end of the year from the cosmodrome “Vostochniy”. The output of imitators of the 5th generation has been planned on the first half of 2016.

“The main novelty will become a system of hot reservation, when all the power modules of an imitator work independently, but if one of them breaks down, the remaining one will allow full load. An opeartor will get a message of a disrepair and will be able to change the broken block. And the tests of the space machinery don't stop, restoration goes “in motion”, Sergey Batalov said.

Imitators of the 5th generation will also be more powerful, lay-out of elements will be changed, new technical solutions will be used. On a customer's demand equipment will be equipped with sources of smooth supplying and it will allow to lead a space machinery to the initial position and switch off all the systems smoothly in case of a refusal of the grid.

After the production an imitator will have to pass tough tests: besides standard electric tests, it will pass tests in a climate camera in -25 and +35 degrees, in the conditions of unstable voltage and at a vibro-impact booth.

“Today we are making a test model and after the tests, settings and acceptance of the model by a customer we will begin production of a lot of devices”, Sergey Batalov explained.

Deputy director of the NRI AEM of Tomsk University of control and radio electronics systems added that there are no enterprises in Russia which produce such sources of supplying and equipment represented at the market by an American company is not as good as Tomsk one in both basic options and cost.

Specialists of the NRI AEM work out imitators on request, JSC “RKC “Progress”, PJSC “Saturn”, collaborate with FGUP “NPO named by S.A. Lavochkin” and JSC “MZ “Arsenal”.