Scheduling for Space Tracking and Heterogeneous Sensor Environments

This dissertation draws on the fields of heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithm development, resource allocation problems, and scheduling to address key Air Force problems. The world runs on many schedules. People depend upon them and expect these schedules to be accurate. A process is needed where schedules can be dynamically adjusted to allow tasks to be completed efficiently. For example, the Space Surveillance Network relies on a schedule to track objects in space. The schedule must use sensor resources to track as many high-priority satellites as possible to obtain orbit paths and to warn of collision paths. Any collisions that occurred between satellites and other orbiting material could be catastrophic. To address this critical problem domain, this dissertation introduces both a single objective evolutionary tasker algorithm and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm approach. The aim of both methods is to produce space object tracking schedules to ensure that higher priority objects are appropriately assessed for potential problems. Simulations show that these evolutionary algorithm techniques effectively create schedules to assure that higher priority space objects are tracked. These algorithms have application to a range of dynamic scheduling domains including space object tracking, disaster search and rescue, and heterogeneous sensor scheduling

TRIAD - Preliminary design of an operational earth resources survey system Final report

Design of operational earth resources survey syste

Multi-Agent Orbit Design For Perception Enhancement Purpose

This paper develops a robust optimization based method to design orbits on which the sensory perception of the desired physical quantities are maximized. It also demonstrates how to incorporate various constraints imposed by many spacecraft missions such as collision avoidance, co-orbital configuration, altitude and frozen orbit constraints along with Sun-Synchronous orbit. The paper specifically investigates designing orbits for constrained visual sensor planning applications as the case study. For this purpose, the key elements to form an image in such vision systems are considered and effective factors are taken into account to define a metric for perception quality. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method for several scenarios on low and medium Earth orbits as well as a challenging Space-Based Space Surveillance program application.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figure

Sensor tasking utilizing deep reinforcement learning in a random finite set framework

There is a growing need to increase the capabilities of existing sensor arrays to monitor a large amount of space objects orbiting the Earth with a limited number of opportunities to observe these objects. Due to geopolitical considerations and financial cost, it is infeasible to create an array of sensors that can monitor each space object and accurately describe its state. Instead of brute force techniques by increasing the number of sensors worldwide, the current advancements in computational capability along with new algorithms for multi-target filtering and reinforcement learning has allowed a pathway to begin solving the non-myopic, heterogenous sensor tasking problem. This work employs the labeled multi-Bernoulli filter in conjunction with advanced, deep reinforcement learning techniques such as the policy gradient Q-learning algorithm and deep Q-networks. The filter and reinforcement learning techniqures are used together to track ten targets in geosynchronous orbit, while a linear Kalman filter and the reinforcement learning techniques are used to evaluate their effectiveness in multi-agent learning scenarios. The future deployment of these algorithms and their specific logistical considerations are also discussed with potential solutions.Aerospace Engineerin

Sensor Control for Multi-Object Tracking Using Labeled Multi-Bernoulli Filter

The recently developed labeled multi-Bernoulli (LMB) filter uses better approximations in its update step, compared to the unlabeled multi-Bernoulli filters, and more importantly, it provides us with not only the estimates for the number of targets and their states, but also with labels for existing tracks. This paper presents a novel sensor-control method to be used for optimal multi-target tracking within the LMB filter. The proposed method uses a task-driven cost function in which both the state estimation errors and cardinality estimation errors are taken into consideration. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can successfully guide a mobile sensor in a challenging multi-target tracking scenario

Orbiting space debris : dangers, measurement and mitigation

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992.Title as it appears in the M.I.T. Graduate List, Feb. 1992: Orbital space debris, dangers, measurement and mitigation.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-331).by Ross Theodore McNutt.M.S

Optimal planning of space surveillance network and automatic data processing

Nowadays, more than 17; 000 objects greater than 10 cm in diameter are tracked and available in public catalog. Just nearly a thousand and a half are active spacecraft. In low Earth orbit (LEO), the increasing of Cube-Sat missions launched in last years is contributing to the growth of the space object population. Furthermore, large constellations to LEO are under development. Such constellations will lead to an unprecedented, step increase in the number of satellites in LEO. Consequently, to prevent the generation of debris in the short-term and the growth of the debris population over the longer-term is mandatory to avoid Kessler syndrome. Therefore, due to the continuous growth of number of operative satellites and the consequent risk of impact among them, an improvement in the observation is constantly demanding. The presented solution to provide a reliable and timely response in case of contingencies is the development of a worldwide sky-coverage network. In the framework of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) – Sapienza University of Rome Agreement (N.2013-078-C.O) for scientific cooperation at the Broglio Space Center (BSC) in Malindi (Kenya), S5Lab research team is developing a network of optical observatories. The presented thesis deals with the development of the network composed by an Italian observatory named MITO (Mid-latitude Italian Observatory), located near Rome and an equatorial observatory called EQUO (Equatorial Italian Observatory). The combinatorial explosion in the number of intervals to be scheduled has been caused by the increasing number of space debris to be observed with optical ground station. Therefore, new scheduling approach are needed to provide a solution to the new requests. In the framework of the Agreement between Italian Space Agency (ASI) and National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) Supporto alle attività IADC e validazione pre-operativa per SST (N.2015-028-R.0) a scheduler has been developed to manage the network. The presented thesis outlines the developed software called NICO (Networked Instrument Coordinator for space debris Observations) designed to allocate visibility windows to each optical sensor of the network by solving priority conflicts of the scheduling tasks. NICO goal is the harmonization of the different requests by taking care also of external limitations such as astronomical constraints and weather conditions. The development of a network of observatories and a scheduler to manage and organize the data acquisition routine has triggered the problem on how to manage the acquired data. Due to the increasing of the number of the observatory involved in data acquisition and the number of taken images per night, a new automated image processing tool for light-curves measurements was needed. This thesis presents the development and application of the automated software designed to process light curves acquisition. These are used to determine the dynamical state of the target in terms of attitude by processing the light reflected from the metallic surface of the object. Rapid changes in brightens of the response are investigated to reconstruct rapid changes in the attitude in the scale of a second or less. These data are extremely valuable to detect and investigate the attitude of an orbiting object and its evolution especially for future Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions

Exploiting Bounded Sensor Field-of-View Geometry in Tracking and Sensor Planning Problems

In search-detect-track problems, knowledge of where objects were not seen can be as valuable as knowledge of where objects were seen. Exploiting the sensor's known sensing extents, or field-of-view (FoV), this type of evidence can be incorporated in a Bayesian framework to improve tracking accuracy and form better sensor schedules. This paper presents new techniques for incorporating bounded FoV inclusion/exclusion evidence in object state densities and multi-object cardinality distributions. Some examples of how the proposed techniques may be applied to tracking and sensor planning problems are given

Precision Pointing Control System (PPCS) system design and analysis

The precision pointing control system (PPCS) is an integrated system for precision attitude determination and orientation of gimbaled experiment platforms. The PPCS concept configures the system to perform orientation of up to six independent gimbaled experiment platforms to design goal accuracy of 0.001 degrees, and to operate in conjunction with a three-axis stabilized earth-oriented spacecraft in orbits ranging from low altitude (200-2500 n.m., sun synchronous) to 24 hour geosynchronous, with a design goal life of 3 to 5 years. The system comprises two complementary functions: (1) attitude determination where the attitude of a defined set of body-fixed reference axes is determined relative to a known set of reference axes fixed in inertial space; and (2) pointing control where gimbal orientation is controlled, open-loop (without use of payload error/feedback) with respect to a defined set of body-fixed reference axes to produce pointing to a desired target

PLACE: Post LANDSAT D Advanced Concept Evaluation

There are no author-identified significant results in this report