GTOC X: Solution Approach of Team Sapienza-PoliTo

This paper summarizes the solution approach and the numerical methods developed by the joint team Sapienza University of Rome and Politecnico di Torino (Team Sapienza-PoliTo) in the context of the 10th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. The proposed method is based on a preliminary partition of the galaxy into several small zones of interest, where partial settlement trees are developed, in order to match a (theoretical) optimal star distribution. A multi-settler stochastic Beam Best-First Search, that exploits a guided multi-star multi-vessel transition logic, is proposed for solving a coverage problem, where the number of stars to capture and their distribution within a zone is assigned. The star-to-star transfers were then optimized through an indirect procedure. A number of refinements, involving settle time re-optimization, explosion, and pruning, were also investigated. The submitted 1013-star solution, as well as an enhanced 1200-point rework, are presented.