Applications of Linear Programming Techniques to Satellite Power Management and Scheduling

Abstract

The power system is one of the most important subsystems for a successful space mission. Any failure in this subsystem leads to a direct loss of a satellite. This creates a need for a power schedule to be effectively and efficiently produced, especially if requirements are constantly changing. This paper presents the application of linear programming techniques to solving the power schedule problem, with the more specific usage of mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). The illustration of the approach is applied to a Swedish student satellite, which consists of the necessary subsystems and eight separate experiments. Two programs are developed, one studying the satellite lifetime in terms of orbital cycles and the other studying the individual orbit cycle. Simulating the lifetime of the satellite over 5000 orbit cycles, the battery level did not decline below 76.35%. Using a computer with an Intel i4 processor, this simulation took 3.2 hrs, with individual orbits taking 2.3 s each. Further work includes developing the program to be completed on-aboard the satellite, adapting to new scenarios, and incorporating a model for the decline of battery performance over time.

Autonomous and Earth-Independent Orbit Determination for a Lunar Navigation Satellite System

“…This article continues work first presented at the 34th ISTS in Kurume, Japan on 9 June 2023 [20]. Significant modifications, improvements, and extensions have been made.…”

On‐board energy scheduling optimization algorithm for nanosatellites

“…The challenge of power generation or its best use in satellite missions is not new. [12][13][14][15][16] However, those first works were related to medium and large satellites where the power, voltage, and current levels were far above the CubeSat requirements. In addition, they assessed technologies that have improved since then, such as solar cells, batteries, and computer performance.…”

“…The challenge of power generation or its best use in satellite missions is not new 12–16 . However, those first works were related to medium and large satellites where the power, voltage, and current levels were far above the CubeSat requirements.…”