Seiichi Shimizu | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Satellite Constellation Pattern Optimization for Complex Regional Coverage

The use of regional coverage satellite constellations is on the rise, urging the need for an optimal constellation design method for complex regional coverage. Traditional constellations are often designed for continuous global coverage, and the few existing regional constellation design methods lead to suboptimal solutions for periodically time-varying or spatially-varying regional coverage requirements. This paper introduces a new general approach to design an optimal constellation pattern that satisfies such complex regional coverage requirements. To this end, the circular convolution nature of the repeating ground track orbit and common ground track constellation is formalized. This formulation enables a scalable constellation pattern analysis for multiple target areas and with multiple sub-constellations. The formalized circular convolution relationship is first used to derive a baseline constellation pattern design method with the conventional assumption of symmetry. Next, a novel method based on binary integer linear programming is developed, which aims to optimally design a constellation pattern with the minimum number of satellites. This binary integer linear programming method is shown to achieve optimal constellation patterns for general problem settings that the baseline method cannot achieve. Five illustrative examples are analyzed to demonstrate the value of the proposed new approach.

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arXiv2019

Optimal Satellite Constellation Spare Strategy Using Multi-Echelon Inventory Control

The recent growing trend to develop large-scale satellite constellations (i.e., mega-constellation) with low-cost small satellites has brought the need for an efficient and scalable maintenance strategy decision plan. Traditional spare strategies for satellite constellations cannot handle these mega-constellations due to their limited scalability in number of satellites and/or frequency of failures. In this paper, we propose a novel spare strategy using an inventory management approach. We consider a set of parking orbits at a lower altitude than the constellation for spare storage, and model satellite constellation spare strategy problem using a multi-echelon (s,Q)-type inventory policy, viewing Earth's ground as a supplier, parking orbits as warehouses, and in-plane spare stocks as retailers. This inventory model is unique in that the parking orbits (warehouses) drift away from the orbital planes over time due to orbital mechanics' effects, and the in-plane spare stocks (retailers) would receive the resupply from the closest (i.e., minimum waiting time) available warehouse at the time of delivery. The parking orbits (warehouses) are also resupplied from the ground (supplier) with stochastic lead time caused by the order processing and launch opportunities, leveraging the cost saving effects by launching many satellites in one rocket (i.e., batch launch discount). The proposed analytical model is validated against simulations using Latin Hypercube Sampling. Furthermore, based on the proposed model, an optimization formulation is introduced to identify the optimal spare strategy, comprising the parking orbits characteristics and all locations policies, to minimize the maintenance cost of the system given performance requirements. The proposed model and optimization method are applied to a real-world case study of satellite mega-constellation to demonstrate their value.

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