System Health Monitoring for Deep Space Electrical Power Systems

NASA is interested in advanced techniques to provide fault diagnosis for increasingly complex space electrical power systems requiring higher levels of autonomy. Okean Solutions proposes to provide system health monitoring including fault detection and isolation/identification (FDI) to enable reliable and resilient space power. The software solution will support autonomous recovery and reconfiguration of space power systems. Our model-based FDI system called MONSID® determines the health state of power system components so appropriate action can be taken whether the system is healthy or not. It can be applied to monitor any electrical power system, including but not limited to Gateway, Deep Space Transit Vehicle, and Lunar power microgrids. The system can be implemented standalone or integrated with an onboard executive/controller. The primary use case will be in support of load shedding and reconfiguration but health state knowledge and history can also be used for power forecasting. Knowledge of failures can be used autonomously or by human operators to minimize downtime by swapping to alternate components or replacement. MONSID utilizes physics models of hardware functionality similar to digital twins. The modeling technique captures nominal behavior so it can uncover unanticipated off-nominal behavior in addition to known faults. Explicit fault models are not required to isolate the source of faults, which reduces model complexity and simplifies validation. The fault diagnosis engine is compact, deterministic, and application-agnostic making it completely re-usable. During the program, through Phase II, Okean Solutions will demonstrate the effectiveness of the modeling approach and FDI technique for NASA Glenn’s autonomous modular power architecture. We will develop MONSID models of power system components and functions, run test cases for nominal and fault scenarios, integrate MONSID with the autonomous power control (APC) architecture, and provide training.

A successful combined Phase I and II effort will demonstrate that MONSID can determine system-level health state for autonomous operations of electrical power systems. This will be foundational for infusion into missions with increased autonomy requirements such as Gateway, Deep Space Transit Vehicle, and Lunar microgrids. In the short term, successful integration with NASA Glenn’s autonomous power control architecture can lead to follow-on Phase III activities involving power systems hardware testbeds and technology demonstration efforts. These projects could be at NASA Glenn as well as other centers leveraging the power management hardware and software technology. The JNEXT technology development programs at JPL are also candidates for mission infusion. Potential future NASA applications in deep space and on Lunar and Martian surfaces include plans for hierarchical control and fault management architectures (e.g. Gateway’s Vehicle State Manager, Lunar microgrids). Non-NASA applications include Depart of Defense and commercial space platforms and ground systems. The Air Force and Space Force are seeking fault management technologies that will support operations in the face of faults, effectively minimizing outages. The Navy has increased development of advanced energy management and storage in support of manned and unmanned electric propulsion vessels. These “floating microgrids” will benefit from automated fault detection and identification. Aerospace Industry hardware suppliers, from Boeing and Northrup Grumman to small firms, desiring to fly their hardware on missions such as Gateway, HabX space telescope, and ARTEMIS II/III are also potential customers. These missions will require long-term autonomous capabilities, including advanced fault detection and identification. For upcoming commercial space stations, MONSID could monitor systems critical to safe operations. Further, MONSID would provide operations personnel with improved situational awareness in the context of off-nominal conditions.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.