Exploring Space(s): The space mission lifecycle, evolutionary algorithms, and a novel approach to mission planning optimisation
- Paper number
IAC-06-C1.P.6.02
- Author
Dr. Ed Chester, SciSys GmbH / ESA-ESOC, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Joao Graciano, Gertec Consult GmbH, Germany
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The space industry is heavily dependent upon optimisation: of designs, of operational parameters, of trajectories, of resource allocations. Many techniques specific to each problem have thus arisen, allowing tailored optimisation typically performed in isolation from other problems. Recently, some attention has been given to the growing field of Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) for tackling the growing complexity of certain areas of space missions. In this paper we start with an introductory overview of EA, and then provide a survey of those activities in the space industry that are candidates for the deployment of such evolutionary methods.
This is achieved in the context of the industry itself by considering the traditional mission lifecycle and key activities in each phase that are targets for optimisation. We summarise the main examples of known usage of evolutionary computation, selecting cases that demonstrate the broad applicability of the methods to the space domain. We then identify a routine aspect of mission operations that is a good candidate for an EA-based tool - spacecraft mission planning - and describe our approach to designing an algorithm that can optimise such a complex problem.
We then proceed to present a new software tool based on genetic algorithms with a Pareto multi-objective adaptation of the famous Travelling Salesman Problem. The resulting tool allows very complex constrained operational planning scenarios to be modelled, and we show that the approach scales well to large mission planning tasks. The paper concludes with the results of the implemented model in simulations, and a description of ongoing work to integrate the new approach with conventional mission planning tools.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-C1.P.6.02.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.