ECSS-E-ST&HB-20-20C – A Power Interface Standard & Handbook for Products Development

¹ ESA-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
² Airbus Defence and Space SAS, Route de Verneuil, 78130 Les Mureaux, France
³ Terma A/S, Hovmarken 4, 8520 Lystrup, Denmark
⁴ Leonardo S.p.A., Viale Europa snc, 20014 Nerviano ( MI), Italy
⁵ Thales Alenia Space, rue Chapelle Beaussart 101, 6032 Mont-Sur-Marchienne, Belgium
⁶ Airbus Defence and Space SAS, 31 rue des Cosmonautes, 31402 Toulouse, France
⁷ ESA-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁸ OHB System AG, Universitätsallee 27-29, 28359 Bremen, Germany

E-mail: ferdinando.tonicello@esa.int
E-mail: bruno.mauret@airbus.com
E-mail: haj@terma.com
E-mail: luciano.croci@leonardocompany.com
E-mail: nicolas.deplus@thalesaleniaspace.com
E-mail: nicolas.neugnot@airbus.com
E-mail: peter.rumler@esa.int
E-mail: tadeusz.kocman@ohb.de

Abstract

With progression of space experience, the need of more stable and repeatable interfaces definition becomes clear. Especially for satellite platform needs, some electrical interfaces need a more reproducible application frame, to ensure at the same time the necessary and undisputable quality and reliability needed for institutional and non-institutional missions, and the containment of costs that nowadays is overall requested.

The prerequisite to be able to establish a wide and agreed basis for the definition of the power electrical interfaces on board of a spacecraft is the existence of a consolidated reference architecture.

Such consolidated reference architecture indeed exists for the power subsystem of ESA satellites: due to a number of practical reasons, the concept of using Latching Current Limiters (or LCLs) for the satellite onboard power distribution has consolidated over many decades. This allowed a global European agreement on the relevant interface definition, which culminated in the drafting, reviewing and publication of the ECSS-EST- 20-20C standard (STD) and of the relevant handbook ECSS-E-HB-20-20A (HB).