Title:  Resource Allocation Optimization for Space Domain Awareness and Synthetic Aperture Radar

Advisor:  Dr. Margaret Cheney

Committee:  Dr. Jennifer Mueller, Dr. Patrick Shipman, Dr. Chandra Venkatachalam

Resource allocation problems are concerned with assigning resources to tasks in a manner that optimizes the goals of that application. The applications we will consider include Space Domain Awareness (SDA) sensor tasking and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) flight path planning. Space Domain Awareness consists of tracking and observing objects in orbit. Given the vast number of objects in orbit and the limited resources in which to track and observe, optimally tasking sensors is imperative. We will look at the cost function needed to optimally task these sensors, as well as discuss algorithms involved in maximizing this cost function. Additionally, we will discuss a SAR flight path planning problem in which we maximize both scene coverage and image resolution. We will compare the optimized flight path with other common SAR modes such as stripmap, spotlight, and circular SAR. Ultimately, the optimized flight path outperforms all these other SAR methods. Lastly, we consider many extensions to this flight path planning method, include adding an SNR component, planning flight paths for multiple vehicles, and adding a priority of visitation weighting factor to the cost function.

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To join visit:  https://zoom.us/j/93710338134?pwd=SVBONGQ2T2xQeTNCbzF3SGRmV3VVdz09
Meeting ID: 937 1033 8134
Passcode: 726101