Peer-to-peer refuelling within a satellite constellation part I: zero-cost rendezvous case

In this paper, we study the scheduling problem arising from refuelling multiple satellites in a constellation. The satellites in the constellation are assumed to be capable of refuelling each other. The cost of the rendezvous maneuver between two satellites exchanging fuel is assumed to be negligible. The goal of this refuelling problem is to equalize the fuel stored among all satellites in the constellation after a given period. It is shown that the problem of equalizing the fuel among the satellites can be formulated and solved as a maximum-weight matching problem.