An AC Power Distribution for Satellites

A dc to ac converter for ac power distribution on-board spacecraft is described. A demonstration model was implemented with the following essential characteristics: input 50 Vdc ± 20 percent and output 50 Vac, 13 kHz, 1 kW. Higher power requirements can also be satisfied by the design. The ac output has such characteristics as to be able to feed low-voltage transformer-rectifier type power supplies, like those used for up-converters, multipliers, intermediate frequency (IF) amplifiers, etc., as well as high-voltage power supplies used for travelling wave tubes (TWT's), Klystrons, etc. Design milestones and approaches are discussed, and significant circuit details, components used protection techniques, and techniques to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) are presented. Input and output characteristics related to high-voltage and low-voltage dc loads are given.