A Hybrid Classical Quantum Computing Approach to the Satellite Mission Planning Problem

Understand

Hundreds of satellites equipped with cameras orbit the Earth to capture images from locations for various purposes.

• Since the field of view of the cameras is usually very narrow, the optics have to be adjusted and rotated between single shots of different locations.
• This is even further complicated by the fixed speed -- determined by the satellite's altitude -- such that the decision what locations to select for imaging becomes even more complex.
• Therefore, classical algorithms for this Satellite Mission Planning Problem (SMPP) have already been proposed decades ago.