Scheduling of a constellation of imaging satellites with usage constraints

Peter J. Shea; Nathan Nasgovitz

doi:10.1117/12.883981

17 May 2011 Scheduling of a constellation of imaging satellites with usage constraints

Peter J. Shea, Nathan Nasgovitz

Proceedings Volume 8044, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications IV; 804404 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.883981
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

The problem of automated scheduling a constellation of satellites to achieve maximum information content is a challenging problem. This optimization problem is further complicated when one attempts to meet collection requirements on various sites all while operating within a power budget. The goal of this research is to find the schedules for a set of satellite sensors that observe a set of fixed ground locations while incorporating visibility, solar angles, time of day, site priority, desired goal time between collects for each site, and satellite power. Our solution approach utilizes a top-down approach that accounts for information over the entire scheduling window. The higher layers use relaxed satellite information in ever decreasing time windows, while the lowest resolution scheduling layer uses a Lagrangian relaxation based approach which incorporates the power constraint in the objective function. The final step of our approach is to search locally for better solutions using a k-switch local search method to improve on the optimization objective function. This paper will focus on the technical discussion of the hierarchical approach and generation of the final solution via Lagrangian relaxation. The information content or benefit of the top-down, Lagrangian relaxation technique will also be compared to other scheduling techniques to provide a measure of performance. We will provide performance results for our approach using simulated data and sensors.

Citation Download Citation

Peter J. Shea and Nathan Nasgovitz "Scheduling of a constellation of imaging satellites with usage constraints", Proc. SPIE 8044, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications IV, 804404 (17 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.883981

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available