An optimization model is presented for the satellite planning problem for the customer premises services case, assuming cost minimization to be the planning objective. It captures the complex relationships between the parameters of interest and the tradeoffs involved in designing the system. The model is nonlinear in nature, and geometric programming techniques were found suitable for solving the problem optimally. The constraint set of the model implicitly defines the feasible combination of parameter values that need to be examined, while the geometric programming solution method searches this solution space in a systematic manner, allowing one to design the satellite for minimum cost without heuristic iterations or trial and error.
