A Struggle Genetic Algorithm for Ground Stations Scheduling Problem

Abstract

The Ground Station Scheduling is one of the most important problems in the field of Satellite-Scheduling. This problem consists in planning feasible planning of communications between satellites or spacecraft (SC) and operations teams of Ground Station (GS). The information received in these communications is usually basic information such as telemetry, tracking information or tasks to perform, so usually the time required for communication is usually quite smaller than the window of visibility. Typically, the assignment of the Ground Stations to Spacecraft is a very limited and small enough to make a manual planning, defined by short periods of time. However, resource allocation of a ground station on a mission has a high cost, and automation of this process provides many benefits not only in terms of management, but in economic terms as well. The problem is known for its high complexity and is an over-constrained problem. In this paper, we present the resolution of the problem through Struggle Genetic Algorithms. Struggle GA is a version of GAs that distinguishes for its efficiency in maintaining the diversity of the population through genetic evolution. We present some computational results for the case of the multi-ground stations scheduling obtained with Struggle GA using the STK simulation toolkit.