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Power / Thermal / Budgets

Power Budget Basics

Estimate average and peak power from subsystem loads and duty cycles; compare generation vs consumption with engineering margin.

High school
Time estimate
25–35 min
Complexity
developing
Maturity
pilot ready
Simulator readiness
implemented
Software available now
Implemented — interactive average/peak power teaching lab at `/twin/learn/activities/budget_power_stress_test`. Not a certified power analysis or full EPS transient simulator.
Open interactive activity
Curriculum map →Learn hub →Power / Thermal / Budgets overview →

Student path

  1. Set mission preset and solar generation teaching value.
  2. Adjust subsystem loads and payload/radio duty cycles.
  3. Compare average vs peak and read margin status (safe / warning / overloaded).
  4. Complete local self-check and copy evidence (activity id + boundary note).

Learning outcomes

Student can compare average and peak bus power, explain duty-cycle effects, and read a simple margin result (safe / warning / overloaded).

  • Compute average power when some loads are duty-cycled.
  • Compare average generation to average load and explain margin in plain language.
  • Name one operational change that improves margin without new hardware (duty cycle, mode, or contact plan).

Concept primer

Estimate average and peak power from subsystem loads and duty cycles; compare generation vs consumption with engineering margin.

Open the Power Budget Basics lab at `/twin/learn/activities/budget_power_stress_test` — browser-local teaching model (not a flight EPS simulator).

Fill a power budget table with steady vs duty-cycled loads; compute average power by hand for one row.

Interactive lab

Teaching-grade software activity slot — not a flight simulator or certified propagator.

Interactive lab

Power budget (average vs peak)

Adjust subsystem loads and duty cycles. Average power uses duty-cycled payload and radio; peak assumes payload and radio can draw full rated power together with thermal worst-case.

Outputs

Average power (approx.)
5.52 W
Peak power (approx.)
12.98 W
Solar preset vs average load
18.0 W vs 5.52 W

Margin

Safe

Largest average contributor: OBC (continuous)

Teaching rule of thumb: compare solar preset to average load; peak informs sizing bursts.

Local self-check

Assessment (practice only)

Use this as a self-check and discussion starter. It is local-only and not a grade.

Optional: attaches a local summary (completed / quick checks / checklist count).

Quick check

Multiple choice self-check

This is a local self-check to support discussion. It is not a grade.

Quick check: Why is average bus power often lower than peak power?

Quick check: Engineering margin in a power budget primarily exists to…

Discussion prompt

Short answer (local only)

Write notes for yourself or your group. Nothing is submitted.

Short answer: Name the subsystem that was your largest average consumer in this lab and one knob you would turn first if margin turned red.

Checklist

Local checklist self-check

Use this to verify you covered key ideas. Nothing is submitted.

Checklist: Power Budget Basics readiness (self-check)

0 / 4 checked

Local summary

Assessment summary (practice only)

Completion

0 / 4 sections complete

Quick checks

0 / 2 correct

Shown only to support self-check.

Checklist

0 / 4 items checked

Reminder

Local-only practice summary. Not a grade and not submitted anywhere.

What this preview is / is not

Assessment engine v0 boundary note

  • Student view (local practice): use this as a self-check and discussion starter.
  • Local-only preview/practice: your answers are not submitted.
  • No backend, no accounts, no roster, and no LMS integration.
  • Not a grade. No credential or official scoring is implied.
  • Teacher visibility into student answers is not implemented in MVPF8.
  • Evidence runtime engine arrives in Phase 9 (not in this preview).

Capture

Evidence capture (local-only)

Capture what you did, what changed, what you observed, and how you explain it. This stays in your browser unless you copy/share it manually.

Selected inputs

  • Mission preset: imaging
  • Payload duty: 35%
  • Radio duty: 15%
  • Solar generation (preset): 18.0 W
  • Margin line %: 18%

Generated outputs

  • Average power (approx.): 5.52 W
  • Peak power (approx.): 12.98 W
  • Largest average contributor: OBC (continuous)
  • Margin status: Safe margin (gen ≥ ~108% of avg load)

Checklist

Evidence checklist

0/4 checked

Evidence artifact (local-only)

Power Budget Basics

Captured: 2026-05-16T07:38:32.795Z · Level: high_school · Track: budgets_resources

Summary

Copyable class summary

Copy a readable summary for class notes, or copy JSON for a structured record. Local-only: nothing is submitted.

Evidence artifact (v1)
Activity: Power Budget Basics
Track: budgets_resources
Learner level: high_school
Captured: 2026-05-16T07:38:32.795Z

Mission brief:
Mission preset: imaging; teaching-grade power budget estimate (not certified analysis).

Selected inputs:
- Mission preset: imaging
- Payload duty: 35%
- Radio duty: 15%
- Solar generation (preset): 18.0 W
- Margin line %: 18%

Generated outputs:
- Average power (approx.): 5.52 W
- Peak power (approx.): 12.98 W
- Largest average contributor: OBC (continuous)
- Margin status: Safe margin (gen ≥ ~108% of avg load)

Checklist:
- [ ] Recorded loads and duty cycles
- [ ] Compared average vs peak
- [ ] Interpreted margin status honestly
- [ ] Copied evidence with boundary note

Observations:
(not provided)

Reflection:
Largest average consumer and one knob I would turn if overloaded.

Model boundary note:
Local-only teaching model — not flight-grade EPS, thermal, or mass analysis; no battery certification claims; evidence is not submitted anywhere and is not a grade.

Policy reminder:
- Local-only capture. Not submitted anywhere. Not a grade.

Boundary note

Local-only teaching model — not flight-grade EPS, thermal, or mass analysis; no battery certification claims; evidence is not submitted anywhere and is not a grade.

Evidence capture

Expected outputs learners should be able to show after the lab (Phase 9 evidence engine preview available).

  • Selected mission preset and load / duty settings
  • Average power, peak power, and generation vs consumption summary
  • Margin status and one-sentence largest consumer or driver
  • Local self-check summary and copied evidence text

Reflection

Adjust load chips, payload/radio duty cycles, and a solar generation preset; record average/peak power and margin status.

Responses are not persisted in this preview unless a specific activity component adds storage later.

Assessment / quick check

Why is average power not the same as peak power, and why do teams still plan for peak?

Teacher notes

Contrast average vs peak before numbers: payload and radio are often duty-cycled; OBC/ADCS may be closer to always-on.

Teacher use

Facilitation notes

  • Start with vocabulary: average vs peak — duty-cycled loads lower average, peaks still size power electronics.
  • Ask teams which knob helps first when overloaded: duty cycle, mode (not modeled here), comm schedule, or margin policy.
  • Explicitly debunk: “more solar panel area is free” — mass, volume, pointing, and thermal still constrain design.

Next activity

Suggested progression from the mission learning path. Links avoid missing activity routes.

Curriculum map →Learn hub →