Allocation of Downlink Windows for a Constellation of Satellites

Abstract : This paper considers the problem of allocation of downlink windows for a constellation of satellites whose mission is to perform a regular surveillance of ship movements over all the oceans. This surveillance is realized using both radar acquisitions of specific areas and acquisition flows continuously collected over the whole orbits. These acquisitions must be downloaded as quickly as possible, to reduce the so-called age of information and improve situation awareness on ground. The paper presents a mathematical modeling of the downlink windows allocation problem in this context, problem decomposition techniques that reduce complexity, and some first experiments on practical instances.