Multi-Satellite Optical Link Scheduling With Direct Nonlinear Attitude Planning

Presenter Information

• Leif Nelson, The University of New MexicoFollow
• Yung-Jai Pomeroy, The University of New Mexico
• Daniel J. Garcia, The University of New Mexico

Session

Poster Session 2

Location

Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT

Abstract

The Problem:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations increasingly rely on Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISL) to route data across dynamic satellite networks. As satellites move through their orbits, communications continuously change due to line-of-sight constraints, link quality variations, and spacecraft pointing limitations. Traditional routing approaches often consider network optimization separately from spacecraft attitude control, creating a disconnect between planned routes and physically achievable communication links. This work addresses the challenge of simultaneously generating communication routes while validating that satellites can physically point toward their assigned target. The result is an end-to-end framework that integrates network planning, optical link feasibility, and spacecraft attitude control to automatically generate mathematically and physically feasible routes.

Document Type

Event