Development and Verification of a Power Distribution Unit Controller Software for a Hybrid Navigation System

Abstract

Over the last years, a few Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) prototypes were successfully implemented. Now, a new era of suborbital space missions are being carried out to demonstrate the reliability of different RLV concepts. In this context, the Reusability Flight Experiment (ReFEx) mission is being developed by the German Aerospace Center with the aim of demonstrate innovative RLV technologies. This demonstrator will contain a Hybrid Navigation System (HNS) including a controllable Power Distribution Unit (PDU). Accordingly, there is a need to develop a software for the controller of the PDU. The main objective of this Master’s Thesis is to develop and verify the required software. Discussions regarding the software concept and its algorithms are covered by this document. As result, an integrated version of the PDU and its Power Distribution Unit Controller (PDU-C) as a single device unit had been achieved, consolidating the hardware and software into a combined prototype. Several tests and verification procedures have been elaborated to accomplish a high reliable design. In the future, this work will serve as base for the next generation of HNS PDUs for RLVs.