Bi-objective Exact Optimization of Satellite Payload Power Configuration

Communications satellites are designed to provide services by forwarding signals to customers. Uplink signals are filtered and amplified to ensure signal output quality. This is ensured by the payload part of the satellite. Reconfigurable hardware components like switches are embedded in the payload to route signals through the satellite. By setting switch positions, satellite engineers are able to connect, restore or reconfigure channels. However, to follow the increasing demands, satellite payloads embed more and more components. As a consequence, their manual management is becoming time-consuming and error-prone. Power transmission optimization has then a crucial role to decrease costs while keeping a maximum quality of service. In this aim, satellite operators would like to minimize the power of the signals sent from Earth while keeping a maximum amplification. In this work, we tackle for the first time this new bi-objective problem of optimizing input and output power. Exact methods have been considered to propose efficient alternatives to the satellite operators.