Design and Construction of Power Distribution Architecture of a CubeSat using Genetic Algorithm

The power distribution system of a nanosatellite consists of various integrated circuit components arranged and connected in a way that leads to its maximum optimization. To achieve maximum optimization, the integrated circuits need to be selected by keeping various power requirement parameters and physical parameters in mind. The goal of this paper is to carry out a tradeoff analysis to select various ICs used in the power distribution architecture of RV-SAT1, which is a CubeSat carrying a biological payload, and find out pathways in which the power distribution system can function if one or more of the components falter, using an innovative method called genetic algorithm. Genetic algorithm provides a multifaceted outlook at optimization problems which is very useful in carrying out the tradeoff analyses to select components as there are various parameters that need to be considered in the process of component selection. Once the information of the power requirements of various loads in RV-SAT1 is obtained, the selection of ICs is done on the basis of its various fundamental properties by applying genetic algorithm. The simulation of the power distribution architecture is done using the genetic algorithm toolbox in MATLAB. Furthermore, this technique is applied to consider various scenarios of component malfunctioning and provide unique solutions for each one of those cases.