Coordinated Observation and Data Transmission Scheduling of Heterogeneous Space Platforms: A Time-Dependent Team Orienteering Problem With Multiple Time Windows

Full use of the complementary advantages of space platforms (SPs) for coordinated Earth observation is important in the aerospace field. A coordinated observation and data transmission scheduling problem of heterogeneous SPs, including agile Earth observation satellites (AEOSs), airships, and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), is studied. A coordinated Earth observation framework of multiple SPs is proposed to guarantee the coordinated operation of AEOSs, airships, and UAVs. The time dependence of AEOSs’ observation quality, AEOSs’ attitude transition time, and airships’ and UAVs’ cruising time is considered. The problem is modeled as a time-dependent team orienteering problem with multiple time windows (TDTOPMTWs). A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is constructed to formulate the problem. A memetic algorithm (MA) is proposed. A feasible observation time window (FOTW) selection strategy is designed to decrease the conflict among observation tasks. An observation task insertion strategy based on time-dependent rewards, task urgency, attitude transition time and cruising time is developed. A priority-based data transmission task insertion strategy is designed, which ensures that observation tasks with high priority are transmitted. A ξ-partial label setting algorithm with time-dependent reward, attitude transition time, and cruising time is designed for local search. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified by comparing it with that of Gurobi 9.5.1, adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS), knowledge-based MA (KMA) and multiround combinatorial allocation algorithm (MCA) on the basis of different scales of instances. Results show that the algorithm can obtain satisfactory solutions in a reasonable time.