Eliminating Electrical Arcing in Satellite Systems

In 1995, Boeing Satellite Systems introduced a new family of communication satellite buses, with bodies that contain power, control, and propulsion systems. They used a high-voltage bus connected to a 100V stabilized power source, instead of the standard 27V. This introduced an increase in operating voltage that decreased operating currents and lowered the corresponding ohmic losses in the conductors. However, it also introduced a potentially catastrophic failure to the satellites' electronic systems: electrical arcing (Figure 1).

Vasily Kozhevnikov, researcher at the Institute of High Current Electronics in Tomsk, Russia, explains: “The transition to the new standard of operating voltages has led to the problem of an electric arc ignition between the elements of the electronic circuit boards. In order to keep the mass of the satellite as small as possible, the space inside the circuit housing is not filled with an insulator or built to hold a vacuum. But that allows electric arc discharge or discharge cascade that can potentially spread over a large volume of onboard equipment.