This paper introduces an optimal scheduling framework for the Earth observation tasks of multiple agile satellites based on nonlinear modeling of attitude change time for the task transition. An attitude control module using a quaternion feedback constructs the database storing the time to complete the attitude change maneuver for a given initial and final attitude pair. A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for optimal satellite task scheduling based on the generated transition time database is developed. The database can accurately estimate the task transition time and ensure the feasibility of the obtained solution. A P-MILP heuristic, which can prune out unnecessary constraints of the original MILP formulation and obtain near-optimal solutions for large problem instances, is proposed. A comprehensive case study on the task scheduling to operate agile satellites validates the proposed framework and heuristic.

本文基于任务转换的姿态变化时间非线性建模，介绍了一种多敏捷卫星对地观测任务的优化调度框架。使用四元数反馈的姿态控制模块构建数据库，存储完成给定初始和最终姿态对姿态变化机动的时间。基于生成的过渡时间数据库，开发了用于优化卫星任务调度的混合整数线性规划 (MILP) 公式。数据库可以准确估计任务过渡时间，保证得到的解决方案的可行性。提出了一种 P-MILP 启发式算法，它可以去除原始 MILP 公式中不必要的约束，并为大型问题实例获得接近最优的解决方案。