State Estimation in Spacecraft Power Distribution Systems Using Compound Current Sensors

The autonomous operation of the electric power system of a spacecraft is a key enabling functionality for deep-space missions. This functionality is informed by the real-time physical status of its power system, which is determined by processing the inputs obtained from various voltage and current sensors distributed throughout the electric network. In particular, it is important to have an accurate estimate of the current in each branch of the power system to detect overload conditions. However, voltage and current measurements can have an error due to noise and sensor faults. In this work, the focus is on ensuring accurate estimation of the voltages and currents in the presence of such faults. To this end, a method is proposed to optimally design a network of compound current sensors that enhances the ability to reliably identify faulty or biased current sensors. The proposed sensor fault detection method is validated using simulation results.