Orbit slot allocation in earth observation constellations

Sara Maqrot (1) , Stéphanie Roussel (1) , Gauthier Picard (1) , Cédric Pralet (1)

1 DTIS, ONERA, Université de Toulouse [Toulouse]

In the context of Earth observation constellations, we consider the problem of allocating orbit slots (space and time windows) to clients requesting some ownership of orbit portions overflying desired regions on Earth. This problem arises prior to operational scheduling of task, in constellations where users can directly communicate with the satellites using their own ground stations, delegating the scheduling task in these exclusive slots, to the clients themselves. As to perform the allocation, we propose a two-level optimization approach, where the optimization process (led by either utilitarian or fair criterion) explores the solution space using a feasibility checker based on a constraint solver. We experimentally evaluate and analyze their performance on randomly generated order books and real constellation configurations.

Mots clés: EARTH OBSERVATION CONSTELLATIONS; ORBIT SLOT ALLOCATION; FAIRNESS; CONSTRAINT PROGRAMMING; COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION

Mots clés: Constellations d'observation de la Terre; Allocation de portions d'orbites; équité; programmation par contraintes; optimisation combinatoire

Domaines: Système multi-agents [cs.MA]; Intelligence artificielle [cs.AI]; Optimisation et contrôle [math.OC]

Sara Maqrot, Stéphanie Roussel, Gauthier Picard, Cédric Pralet. Orbit slot allocation in earth observation constellations. Conference on Prestigious Applications of Intelligent Systems (PAIS), Jul 2022, Vienna, Austria. pp.3--16, ⟨10.3233/FAIA220061⟩. ⟨hal-03694752⟩