Overall optimization strategy for cooperative multi-satellite formation reconstruction

Aim: Refs. 1 through 5 studied cooperative multi-satellite formation reconstruction but not from the viewpoint of overall optimization strategy; this viewpoint, we believe, can reduce further fuel consumption and transfer time. Section 1 of the full paper explains our overall optimization strategy with the help of Fig. 1, which presents the block diagram of the flight control system of cooperative multi-satellite formation. Section 2 explains the path optimization strategy for a single satellite; its core is that each satellite's path optimization is achieved by using double-impulse path optimization based on genetic algorithm while the performance index is selected to minimize the fuel consumption and transfer time. Section 3 discusses the implementation of overall optimization strategy for cooperative multi-satellite formation reconstruction; its core is that, using 0-1 integer programming technique and considering the overall performance index, the multi-satellite formation reconstruction is planned. Section 4 gives two simulation examples; the results for example 1 are given in Figs. 2 through 5 and Table 1 and those for example 2 are given in Figs. 6 through 9 and Table 2. The tables show preliminarily that the viewpoint of overall optimization strategy does reduce further fuel consumption and transfer time; Figs. 5 and 9 show preliminarily that this viewpoint can make the fuel consumptions of the individual satellites nearly the same.