Mppt Technique for Smallsat Microgrids: Future Research Challenges and Oportunities

Sunlight is one of the most widely used energy sources for satellites. It is converted into electrical power via photovoltaics. The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is highly significant in the power maximum harvesting of photovoltaics. Various methods have been developed for grid application systems in terrestrial environments, from conventional to intelligent techniques. Despite this, they have not been explored for smallsat systems in low earth orbit. Perturb and Observe (P&O) is the most commonly used method for smallsat systems due to its simplicity. However, it still faces several drawbacks, including steady-state oscillations around the power maximum and getting stuck in the local maximum position. Based on a review of the study literature, the discussions on the development of MPPT techniques for satellite applications in the last five years accounted for approximately 7 % of research on satellite power systems. Therefore, the research opportunities in the MPPT subtheme are very wide opportunities and challenges for future developments. We are currently researching the MPPT technique with the novelty of improved <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathrm{P} \&amp; \mathrm{O}$</tex> with an adaptive step size algorithm to address the gaps.