Developing an optimal layout design of a satellite system by considering natural frequency and attitude control constraints

In recent years, there has been a growing research interest in layout design optimization of satellite systems. The layout design optimization of a satellite system is a complex process having a large number of design variables and constraints. This paper presents a hybrid optimization algorithm, which globally explores the design search space using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and gradient-based Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) to rapidly locate optimum design point. The majority of the previous research works mainly focused on finding reasonable placement of components in satellite layout design, with some specific requirements, which are essential for the satellite stability, control and performance such as attitude control, non-interference and overlap constraints. In this study, additional requirements such as structural stiffness and natural frequency constraints are also considered. The proposed approach is employed on a simplified international global communication satellite. The obtained results indicate that the consideration of natural frequency and attitude control constraints in the configuration layout design of a satellite system can significantly improve the stability and control of the satellite and thus frequency coupling between satellite and launcher can be prevented. In addition, the results indicate that the proposed method provides an effective way of solving layout design optimization problem of satellite systems.