An Auction Algorithm for Optimal Satellite Refueling

Abstract

Satellite refueling can extend the lifetime of satellite constellations. Peer-to-peer satellite refueling in particular has the potential to make the most efficient use of the fuel contained in the constellation by redistributing it as on a need-to basis. In this paper we present an alternative implementation of P2P refueling, namely pairing up fuel sufficient satellites with fuel deficient satellites so that they can refuel each other and guarantee that each satellite has more than a certain baseline amount of fuel. To solve this problem we make use of the auction algorithm, which is implemented in a distributed context. Asynchronous bids have been used to illustrate the robustness of the algorithm.