Measurement of per unit length parameters of the satellite power bus

Abstract

The application of powerline communication (PLC) on board a satellite is a promising idea that has seen interest from researchers in recent years. By merging the power distribution and the on-board communication networks to a single medium, the complexity of the harness can be reduced and the reduction of harness mass is also possible. In order to design the PLC system, the characterization and modeling of the satellite power bus as a communication medium is necessary. The transmission line model is often used for the estimation of transmission functions and noise levels. The physical properties and configuration of the satellite harness is varied depending on the mission and platform with standards only providing general guidelines. This paper presents the measurement results of the per unit length parameters of selected harness types performed on a practical model of the satellite harness.