Scheduling of a Constellation of Satellites: Creating a Mixed-Integer Linear Model

The purpose of this paper is to provide a new scheduling model of a large constellation of imaging satellites that does not use a heuristic solving method. The objective is to create a mixed-integer linear model that would be competitive in speed and in its closeness to reality against a current model using simulated annealing, while trying to improve both models. Each satellite has the choice between a number of possible events, each event having a utility and a cost, and the chosen schedule must take into account numerous time-related constraints. The main difficulties appeared in modeling realistically a battery level and in handling infeasible configurations due to inaccurate parameters. The obtained linear model has enabled a better understanding of the performance of the simulated annealing solver, and could also be adapted to different real-world scheduling problems.

Automated summary

The paper introduces a new scheduling model for a large constellation of imaging satellites, aiming to improve upon an existing model that uses simulated annealing. The main challenges were in accurately modeling battery levels and handling infeasible configurations due to inaccurate parameters. The developed linear model not only enhanced understanding of the simulated annealing solver's performance, but also has potential for adaptation to various real-world scheduling problems.