An algorithm for the space shuttle scheduling problem

Abstract

The problem of determining launch times for a set of missions is considered. Launch times must satisfy early start time and resource constraints. The investigation reported is concerned with the minimization of the number of missions which are launched after specified late start times. An algorithm is presented which, under certain restrictive assumptions, provides an optimal solution. If the restrictive assumptions are not satisfied, the algorithm may be used to obtain a lower bound on the number of missions flown late.