Low earth orbit satellite (LEOS) systems promise to provide global com
munication. A LEOS system consists of a large number of satellites in
low orbits. A satellite has a limited Life of approximately five to ei
ght years. Therefore, frequent satellite replenishments are required,
and the LEOS systems will be facing annual replenishment costs in the
range of several hundred million dollars. This paper considers static
satellite launch policies for LEGS systems. The satellite launch probl
em is formulated and a solution method based on dynamic programming is
proposed Lexicographic ordering is used to reduce the search space of
the dynamic program to a moderate size. An algorithm for calculating
optimal static policies is used to demonstrate the potentially signifi
cant economic impact of satellite launch policies on system maintenanc
e costs.