Optimal servicing of geosynchronous satellites
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This paper addresses the problem of how to optimally rendezvous with a set of satellites in geosynchronous orbit that have small inclinations. The method developed has application to two problems, servicing of geosynchronous satellites and the removal of dead satellites in geosynchronous orbit. It is shown that when inclination changes are required the optimal solution reduces to the solution of the traveling salesman problem. The method was applied to a set of non-operational geosynchronous satellites selected from the Space Object catalog. The method also directly identifies those satellites that are very costly (in fuel) to visit so that they can be removed from the list to be visited. 2002 by the author(s). Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
