Optimal Trajectory Reconfiguration and Retargeting for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

Abstract

Autonomous reusable launch vehicles (RLV) are being pursued as low-cost alternatives to expendable launch vehicles and the Shuttle. The employment of autonomous, reusable launch vehicles requires additional guidance and control robustness to fulfill the role of an adaptive human pilot, in the event of failures or unanticipated conditions. The guidance and control of these vehicles mandate new guidance strategies that are able to identify and adapt to vehicle failures during the flight and still return to earth safely. This work utilizes an online trim algorithm that provides the outer loop with the feasible range of Mach number and angle of attack, for which the vehicle can be rotationally trimmed. The algorithm allows one to include 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) trim effects and constraints in a reduced order dynamical model which is used in the solution of an optimal control problem. A direct pseudospectral method is used to solve a two-point-boundary-value problem which determines the optimal entry trajectory subject to appropriate constraints such as normal load, dynamic pressure limits, heat load limits, and state dependent constraints.