Design and deployment of a satellite constellation using collaborative optimization

A study of collaborative optimization as a systematic, multivariable, multidisciplinary method for the conceptual design of satellite constellations is presented. Collaborative optimization was selected because it is well suited to a team-oriented environment, such as often found in the constellation design process. The method provides extensive and formal exploration of the multidisciplinary design space and a scalable formulation of the problem without compromising its subsystems' flexibility or eliminating opportunities for collaboration. The feasibility and benefits of the collaborative optimization architecture are highlighted by the successful convergence of an application notional problem to design and deploy elements of a space-based infrared system that provides early missile warning. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing knowledge of the collaborative optimization method by verifying the feasibility of nongradient optimization algorithms as both system and subsystem optimizers within the architecture. Finally, the demonstrated convergence of this problem, which involves integer variables, also demonstrates the flexibility of the architecture for handling mixed-discrete nonlinear multidisciplinary problems.