Optimal Launch Manifesting for Space Freight Forwarders

What is it about?

The paper discusses an optimal planning for the launching many (small) satellites from the perspective of a space freight forwarder. A space freight forwarder coordinates orders (from launch customers) and vehicles (from launch service providers) like a freight forwarder in ground logistics does. An optimal launch manifesting problem formulation involving decisions on carriers, launch strategies (dedicated or multi-payload), launch dates, and satellite deployment sequence is proposed. A case study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

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