A hierarchical optimization approach for spacecraft swarm trajectories considering dynamic communication topologies

This paper investigates the spacecraft swarm trajectory planning problem in the context of on-orbit assembly missions. Considering the limited communication equipment capacity, communication delay, limited control input, and inter-member interference in a spacecraft swarm, a hierarchical autonomous trajectory planning approach based on dynamic communication topology is developed. To address the problems of communication latency and communication resource waste within swarm in practical engineering applications, an improved Prim algorithm based on communication capacity priority criteria is developed to achieve a more reasonable swarm communication topology that satisfies multiple constraints. Furthermore, a hierarchical framework trajectory planning approach based on the crayfish-convex optimization algorithm (CCOA) is developed to achieve communication maintenance and safe collision avoidance among swarm members. This approach combines the solving speed of COA with the global optimization capability of convex optimization, achieving complementary advantages. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the designed approach in communication topology optimization and trajectory planning.