Entwicklung von Testszenarien und Test des Antriebssystems eines Pseudosatelliten

Abstract

Unmanned solar aircraft have very long duty cycles and are hence suitable for a deployment as a pseudosatellite. They have therefore the potential to close the gap between conventional aircraft (low cost, short duty cycles) and satellites (high cost, long duty cycles). The German Aerospace Center cooperates with several industry partners in the development of the unmanned solar aircraft ELHASPA as a prototype for a commercially deployable pseudosatellite. Since the entire necessary power has to be provided by solar cells, the poweroptimized operation is a crucial challenge. Therefore a method is designed to test the permanent magnet synchronous motor ILM 115x25, that serves as a propulsion drive, in altitudes between 0 and 18 km. Experiments are conducted accordingly and analyzed. The evaluation of the experiments suggests the operation of the motor at high motor temperatures. The integration of the motor should protect it from cooling influences, as far as the maximum acceptable motor temperature is not exceeded. Furthermore, the aircraft ELHASPA should fly at low altitudes and start climbing shortly before the dusk in order to gain potential energy for the flight in the night. The results make a contribution to the development of the solar aircraft ELHASPA. Additionally, the developed procedure is applicable to test motors for the suitability for the deployment in high flying solar aircraft.