The function of the electrical power supply subsystem is to provide all the instruments and equipment on board the satellite with the required electrical power. The subsystem includes the solar array, the NiCd battery, regulators and converters. The output of the solar array will be 1100 W at the end of its lifetime, which is designed to be two years. It represents one of the most sophisticated and powerful facilities in the qualification of industrial products that demand a high reliability. The facility has two main areas in which integration and test activities are carried out.
Tests performed there include alignment measurements, centre of gravity and moment of inertia.
There are also checkout equipment rooms, test control rooms, and additional laboratories. This includes a filtered compressed air system, closed circuit water system, grounding system with less than 1 ohm resistance and an uninterruptable power supply. ESA Bulletin Nr. Published February 1996.