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Satellite Path Planning

Definition

Satellite path planning computes feasible trajectories and pointing schedules that allow a satellite to observe targets or relay data while respecting orbital mechanics and constraints. It accounts for visibility windows, attitude limits, slewing rates, power and thermal budgets, and conflicts among competing tasks. For imaging missions the planner sequences ground tracks, roll or yaw maneuvers for off nadir views, and stereo pairs. For communication missions it plans handovers between beams and gateways. The output is a timeline that maximizes value while staying within safety margins.

Application

Earth observation programs use planners to ensure that high priority targets such as disaster zones are captured as soon as possible. Commercial operators optimize revenue by serving many customers per orbit with minimal slews. Researchers plan conjunction avoidance maneuvers and station keeping to maintain formation geometry. Agencies simulate alternative plans to study how added fuel or more ground stations change mission yield.

FAQ

How do planners balance image quality against the need for off nadir targeting?

Large off nadir angles increase coverage but degrade resolution and introduce shadows or layover. Planners set limits by class, for example strict nadir for reference mapping and wider angles for event monitoring. Quality models predict the minimum angle that still meets the requirement for each request.

What algorithms are commonly used for scheduling conflicts among many imaging requests?

Mixed integer programming captures constraints exactly but can be heavy. Heuristics and genetic algorithms scale to large request sets and deliver good solutions quickly. A hybrid approach uses heuristics to seed the solver and refinement to finalize the plan.

How do power and thermal budgets influence path planning?

Attitude affects solar input and radiator view to space. Continuous slews or long imaging runs can exceed limits. Planners include battery state of charge models and thermal cooldown periods to avoid stressing the spacecraft.

When should operators replan paths during a mission day?

Replanning is useful after weather updates, new emergency tasks, or anomalies that change attitude or power. Short replanning cycles support time critical events, while stable monitoring can run on longer cycles with batch optimization.