Learning multi-satellite scheduling policy with heterogeneous graph neural network

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the multi-satellite scheduling (MSS) problem, a combinatorial optimization problem (COP) that aims to enhance satellite utilization. Numerous scholars have conducted in-depth studies on this matter. Handcrafted policies are commonly employed in various algorithms. Despite the use of graphical representations, designing policies manually becomes increasingly difficult, particularly as the number of satellites and tasks grows. Consequently, we propose a novel approach for automatically summarizing graph structures and learning policies for MSS problem. The proposed approach is developed based on graph neural network, Transformer, and sequence to sequence framework. First, MSS problem is modeled as a heterogeneous graph following various constraints. Next, the encoder, which is based on GNN and Transformer, is designed to summarize crucial information from the aforementioned graph. Finally, a two-stage decoder is proposed taking into account dynamic information in stepwise solution generation. Since obtaining optimal solutions in practical applications is challenging, we train the model using reinforcement learning. The results of the experiment demonstrate that our proposed method performs effectively in various scenarios. The quality of the solutions generated through this method transcends that of conventional construction methods. Additionally, the method generates solutions quickly, which are comparable in quality to those produced by meta-heuristic algorithms.