Prepared by Dan Svrcek of Wyle Laboratories for the Johnson Space Center NEPP Task

The purpose of this survey, dated December 2004, was to provide a reference to engineers to aid in the selection of solid state power switching devices: solid-state relays (SSR), solid-state power controllers (SSPC) etc.

The survey was conducted using the internet. A search for “solid-state relays” found 100 possibilities, the vast majority were eliminated for various reasons: not being a solid state relay manufacturer but a company which integrates them into their systems, form factor (hockey puck), low current, commercial use only, etc. Of the remaining, 11 manufacturers were found which produce products with attributes desirable to the space community.

Section 1  contains the selected list of manufacturers with a short company overview, as provided by the manufacturer, and a list of tests and screens they will perform.

Section 2  contains a list of component series in matrix format. The matrix is not intended to be a comprehensive list containing each component produced but rather a reference of component “series” along with the range of the various characteristics for that series. It’s intended to help narrow the search.

Section 3  contains, from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) community, uses and issues with using SSRs for space flight.

Section 4  briefly discusses changes that may be expected in SSRs and SSPCs within the next few years.

The principle investigator for this work is Mr. Dave Beverly of NASA JSC (david.w.beverly1@jsc.nasa.gov).

Acronyms and Abbreviations for SSRs