West Coast Solutions specializes in expeditionary and scavenging power technologies, including the development of custom batteries and the integration of complex solar and hybrid systems.
The Stirling Convertor Space Controller (SCSC) is a self-contained, space-compatible, radiation-hardened electronic controller for use with Stirling Convertors such as the Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor (SRSC). The SCSC includes circuitry and logic required to fully and reliably control the Stirling Convertor during startup, transient/steady-state and shutdown operations. SCSC receives and conditions AC power from the Stirling Convertor, provides regulated output for battery charging and other functions, includes shunt regulators for dissipation of excess generated power, and is capable of vibration measurement and control when utilized with an active balancer mechanism.
The West Coast Solutions HBS enables a new generation of high-power payloads on SmallSats by providing >700W sustained power from a 1U (1000 cc) hybrid battery. Targeted applications include advanced propulsion technologies, lasercom, high data rate downlink transmitters, large array infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and directed energy. TRL 6 testing of a flight-design prototype is underway on a Missile Defense Agency SBIR Phase II-E. Applied Vibration was completed in December 2024, and Thermal Vacuum and EMI testing are on track for February 2024.
To meet the US Marine Corps next generation expeditionary power needs, West Coast Solutions has developed LEPS. Having evolved from earlier Small Business Innovative Research programs, WCS is presently maturing LEPS to TRL 8 with the first system delivered to USMC and the TRL 8 test program now underway. LEPS provides a 2X SWaP improvement over the current art by virtue of the underlying next generation patented battery and power electronics technologies. LEPS is modular, scalable and reconfigurable to meet a wide range of sizes and applications.
WCS was the design and integration lead on the battery packaging effort for an Air Force Phase III SBIR subcontract to American Lithium Energy. Our focus was on thermal management to meet the aggressive 450W @ 65°C discharge requirement. WCS designed and implemented an extremely compact package that contains enough phase change material to meet requirements.
West Coast Solutions provided mission critical support to Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the selection, integrated design, and test of the Cryocooler Subsystem. One key task involved the design of a Cryogenic Thermal Demonstrator to experimentally determine the cryogenic thermal loads to be expected in the UCIS instrument. Additional program tasks included SolidWorks Simulation finite element thermal analysis and computational fluid dynamics to guide the heat sink designs.
