TOPEX/Poseidon electrical power system-lessons learned

The main objective of the TOPEX/Poseidon Spacecraft is to monitor the world´s oceans for scientific study of weather and climate prediction, coastal storm warning and maritime safety. The operational conditions of this satellite imposed challenging requirements for the on-board electrical power system (EPS). Going through various phases of its development and on-orbit performance verifications, there were certain events and/or circumstances we would have liked to avoid. Some circumstances were avoided with preventative measures, other potentially detrimental events were not. Thus, a number of very valuable lessons were learned which are presented in this paper covering te solar array, batteries, and on-board computer