Satellite Communication SystemsDistributed systems and fault toleranceOpportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks

Muyu Guo, Xiande Wu, Zhihui Luo, Xiangshuai Song

2026.1.1International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

DOI: 10.1155/ijae/5536856

tlooto Summary

Improvements to the traditional contract network protocol are introduced to address shortcomings of the distributed task planning algorithms and a method for satellites to determine their own dominant tasks is proposed with the aim of alleviating the superfluous negotiation communication among satellites.

Abstract

With the rapid development of large‐scale satellite constellations and the intelligent progression of satellites, distributed task planning algorithms have garnered extensive research. However, traditional distributed algorithms face drawbacks such as increased communication burdens and slower response to emergency tasks when dealing with task planning for large satellite clusters. This paper introduces improvements to the traditional contract network protocol to address these shortcomings. Firstly, a method for satellites to determine their own dominant tasks is proposed with the aim of alleviating the superfluous negotiation communication among satellites. Secondly, in the context of batch task upload scenarios, a multitask single‐bid methodology is designed. Furthermore, a provisional task group was constituted to conduct small‐scale intersatellite negotiations for exceptional and urgent tasks for the purpose of minimizing the response time of the system. The simulation results indicate that the algorithm marginally enhances the computing memory of satellites but decreases the intersatellite communication traffic.

Citation format

GUO, Muyu, et al. An improvement of contract net protocol for distributed satellite collaborative task planning. International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 2026, 2026(1).