A Cooperative P2p Refueling Strategy for Circular Satellite Constellations

In this paper, we discuss the problem of peer-to-peer (P2P) refueling of satellites in a circular constellation. In particular, we propose a cooperative P2P (C-P2P) refueling strategy, in which the satellites involved in P2P maneuvers are allowed to engage in cooperative rendezvous. We discuss a formulation of the proposed C-P2P strategy and a methodology to determine the optimal C-P2P assignments. We show that in order to reduce the fuel expenditure in a C-P2P maneuver, the amount of fuel exchanged between the two satellites is such that the satellite performing the larger-ΔV transfer during the return trip, ends up having just enough amount of fuel to be fuel-sufficient. Finally, with the help of numerical examples, we provide a comparison of the P2P and the C-P2P refueling strategies. It is found that a C-P2P strategy is beneficial when the fuel-deficient satellites in the constellation do not have enough fuel to complete a non-cooperative rendezvous.