The power supply unit onboard the HERMES nano-satellite constellation

TL;DR

The paper discusses the design and implementation of a custom power supply unit for the HERMES nano-satellite constellation, enabling reliable operation of miniaturized X-ray detectors in space.

Contribution

It introduces a novel power supply design tailored for nano-satellites, ensuring voltage stability and protection against latch-up events in a space environment.

Findings

Successful development of a custom power supply for HERMES satellites.

Enhanced protection against latch-up events in the power system.

Enabling reliable operation of miniaturized detectors in orbit.

Abstract

HERMES Pathfinder (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites Pathfinder) is a space mission based on a constellation of nano-satellites in a low Earth Orbit, hosting new miniaturized detectors to probe the X-ray temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Waves. This ambitious goal will be achieved exploiting at most Commercial offthe-shelf components. For HERMES-SP, a custom Power Supply Unit board has been designed to supply the needed voltages to the payload and, at the same time, protecting it from Latch-Up events.