SATELLITE SCHEDULING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A system for scheduling events for a constellation of imaging satellites, the system comprising:
- non-transitory data storage configured to store satellite properties information corresponding to characteristics of one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites;
a computing device in communication with the data storage, the computing device configured to execute;
an order management system configured to produce or receive requests for an image collection event;
an orbit analysis system configured to identify one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites which will be positioned over a region suitable to perform a requested image collection event;
a maintenance system configured to produce requests for onboard maintenance for imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites;
a satellite scheduling system configured to receive event requests and satellite properties and to produce a near-optimal schedule of events that does not violate constraints of the constellation of imaging satellites; and
a satellite control system configured to receive the near-optimal schedule of events and convert the near-optimal schedule of events to control instructions for transmission to the one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for scheduling objects having pair-wise and cumulative constraints. The systems and methods presented can utilize a directed acyclic graph to increase or maximize a utilization function. Violation of cumulative constraints can be identified at the moment of constraint violation such that events resulting in constraint violations can be removed from the schedule while the schedule is being determined. By removing the events triggering constraint violations at the point of constraint violation, the systems and methods provided can determine optimal or near-optimal schedules in a relatively quick and efficient manner compared to systems and methods that check for violations of cumulative constraints after determining a schedule. The objects can comprise satellites in a constellation of satellites. In some implementations, the satellites are imaging satellites, and the systems and methods for scheduling can use crowd-sourced data to determine events of interest for acquisition of images.
62 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system for scheduling events for a constellation of imaging satellites, the system comprising:
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non-transitory data storage configured to store satellite properties information corresponding to characteristics of one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites; a computing device in communication with the data storage, the computing device configured to execute; an order management system configured to produce or receive requests for an image collection event; an orbit analysis system configured to identify one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites which will be positioned over a region suitable to perform a requested image collection event; a maintenance system configured to produce requests for onboard maintenance for imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites; a satellite scheduling system configured to receive event requests and satellite properties and to produce a near-optimal schedule of events that does not violate constraints of the constellation of imaging satellites; and a satellite control system configured to receive the near-optimal schedule of events and convert the near-optimal schedule of events to control instructions for transmission to the one or more imaging satellites in the constellation of imaging satellites. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for scheduling events for a plurality of satellites, the system comprising:
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a computing device configured to execute; an event system configured to produce, store, or receive event requests; a constraints system configured to produce, store, or receive characteristics of the plurality of satellites; a prioritization system configured to produce, store, or receive priority information corresponding to the event requests; and a control system operatively coupled to the event system, the constraints system, and the prioritization system, the control system comprising; a scheduling module configured to process the event requests received from the event system, the characteristics of the plurality of satellites received from the constraints system, and the priority information received from the prioritization system and to produce a near-optimal schedule of events in near real-time that does not violate constraints of the plurality of objects; and a command module configured to receive the near-optimal schedule of events and create control instructions for the plurality of objects based at least in part on the near-optimal schedule of events. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. Non-transitory computer storage configured with executable instructions for scheduling events for a plurality of satellites, the executable instructions comprising:
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a scheduling module configured to produce a near-optimal schedule of events in near real-time by building a temporary schedule of events one event at a time and removing a newly added event from the temporary schedule if it causes a violation of a cumulative constraint; and a command module configured to receive the near-optimal schedule of events and create control instructions for the plurality of satellites based at least in part on the near-optimal schedule of events, wherein the near-optimal schedule of events is the temporary schedule of events which does not violate of a cumulative constraint. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for scheduling events for a plurality of objects, the method comprising:
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under control of a computing device in communication with non-transitory data storage configured to store properties corresponding to characteristics of the plurality of objects; determining a likely path for each of the plurality of objects; receiving event requests and object properties for the plurality of objects; producing a near-optimal schedule of events that does not violate constraints of the plurality of objects; and converting the near-optimal schedule of events to control instructions for transmission to the plurality of objects, wherein a first constraint of the plurality of objects is a cumulative constraint and a second constraint of the plurality of objects is a pair-wise constraint. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification