SpaceSched: A Constellation-Wide Scheduling System for Resolving Ground Track Congestion in Remote Sensing
Authors: Zehua Sun, Tao Ni, Pengfei Hu, Tao Gu, Weitao Xu
Abstract
The recent proliferation of spacecraft in Earth's orbits has ushered in the rise of large-scale satellite constellations. However, this unprecedented growth of constellations has introduced a previously unforeseen challenge: ground track congestion. Specifically, the increasing density of orbital slots forces satellites to share similar orbit planes, causing their nadir-point projections on Earth's surface (i.e., ground tracks) to overlap or remain in close proximity within short time intervals. Such orbit-endowed ground track congestion can degrade constellation performance in remote sensing operations, specified by limited constellation coverage, redundant satellite count, and delayed data delivery.