Work

Orbital Depot Location Optimization for Satellite Constellation Servicing with Low-Thrust Transfers

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper addresses the critical problem of co-optimizing the optimal locations for orbital depots and the sequence of in-space servicing for a satellite constellation. While most traditional studies used network optimization for this problem, assuming a fixed set of discretized nodes in the network (i.e., a limited number of depot location candidates), this work is unique in that it develops a method to optimize the depot location in continuous space. The problem is formulated as mixed-integer nonlinear programming, and we propose a solution methodology that iteratively solves two decoupled problems: one using mixed-integer linear programming and the other using nonlinear programming with an analytic transfer solution. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we apply this methodology to a case study involving a GPS satellite constellation. Numerical experiments confirm the stability of our proposed solutions.

Source: Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

DOI: 10.2514/1.a36386

Authors: Euihyeon Choi, Koki Ho

Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Space Satellite Systems and Control

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: green

Funder: Air Force Office of Scientific Research