Mixed integer (non)linear approaches for the satellite constellation design problem

In this paper, we propose mathematical optimization models to solve the satellite constellation design problem for discontinuous coverage. In such a design problem, the aim is to determine the minimal number of satellites (and, incidentally, their 3D placements) in order to observe a fixed Earth reg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optimization and engineering Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 2299 - 2320
Main Authors: Mencarelli, Luca, Floquet, Julien, Georges, Frédéric, Grenier, Dominique
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2023
Springer Verlag
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ISSN:1389-4420, 1573-2924
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In this paper, we propose mathematical optimization models to solve the satellite constellation design problem for discontinuous coverage. In such a design problem, the aim is to determine the minimal number of satellites (and, incidentally, their 3D placements) in order to observe a fixed Earth region within a given revisiting time. Two Mixed Integer Nonlinear formulations are introduced. The first one is a feasibility problem based on the direct mathematical definition of pixel observability. The second one consists in introducing a set of indicator variables which specify if a satellite observes a pixel at a given time-stamp. In order to obtain a linear problem, the possible positions of the satellites are discretized. Finally, computational results show the potential and limitations of the proposed approaches.
ISSN:1389-4420
1573-2924
DOI:10.1007/s11081-022-09774-9