Dynamic Access Control in Multi-Layer Satellite Remote Sensing System Using Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning

The Multi-Layer Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) integrates data collection by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and data processing assistance from Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, thereby playing a crucial role in scientific exploration. However, effectively controlling access to LEO satellites for processing data, especially considering the frequent handovers caused by speed differences, presents a significant challenge to achieving high energy efficiency services. To address this challenge, we explore cooperative dynamic access control based on efficient communication mechanisms, with the aim of prioritizing processed data volume and meeting energy consumption requirements for satellites. Specifically, we formulate the access control issue as an optimization problem and integrate it into the framework of partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), considering MEO satellites’ limited observation ability. By employing Multi-agent Deep Reinforcement Learning (MADRL), we propose a novel dynamic access control algorithm named DAC to solve our featured problem. Specifically, for improving performance, communication-efficient cooperation among MEOs is enhanced through modeling decision-relevant information of fellow MEO satellites and maximizing mutual information with their actual data to extract precise awareness and enable the generation of concise message. Finally, we conduct comprehensive experiments and an ablation study spanning the Starlink, OneWeb, and Telesat mega-constellations. The results demonstrate that DAC increases the average system data processing volume by at least 13.5%, while meeting energy consumption constraints and outperforming baseline algorithms.