Voltage Stability of Spacecraft Electric Power Systems for Deep Space Exploration

The future of deep space exploration requires high levels of reliability in critical subsystems such as the electrical power system. This paper provides an analysis of voltage stability of direct current (DC) microgrids for spacecraft applications. Bifurcation theory is used to determine the behavior of the system and identify the major causes of voltage instability. The analytical results of the bifurcation model are experimentally verified through a series of tests emulating probable operating conditions of the spacecraft. The findings of this paper are applicable to similar classes of islanded (grid forming) DC electric power systems including aerospace vehicles, shipboard systems, and terrestrial microgrids.