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Blended skip entry guidance for low-lifting lunar return vehicles

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Abstract

A skip entry guidance algorithm blending numerical predictor-corrector and nominal trajectory tracking is presented for lunar return vehicles. The guidance is decoupled into longitudinal and lateral channels. A piecewise bank-vs-energy magnitude profile and a sign profile are adopted in the skip phase. A magnitude parameter is used to adjust the predicted downrange, and a pseudo-crossrange at the beginning of the final phase is selected as the lateral control variable. Prediction biases of both channels are nullified by a false position iteration algorithm. An on-line estimation and modeling method is introduced to compensate for aerodynamic and atmospheric uncertainties. A nominal trajectory for the final phase is generated based on actual reenter conditions, and the obtained nominal trajectory is tracked by a linear feedback law. A lateral corridor is used to manage the lateral state. The proposed guidance algorithm is assessed using three-degree-of-freedom Monte Carlo analyses, and the results show a satisfactory and robust performance under highly stressful dispersions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, 410073, Changsha, China

    Zong-Fu Luo, Hong-Bo Zhang & Guo-Jian Tang

Authors
  1. Zong-Fu Luo
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  2. Hong-Bo Zhang
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  3. Guo-Jian Tang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zong-Fu Luo.

Additional information

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61203194) and the Innovation Fund of National University of Defense Technology (B100101).

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Luo, ZF., Zhang, HB. & Tang, GJ. Blended skip entry guidance for low-lifting lunar return vehicles. Acta Mech Sin 30, 973–982 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-014-0086-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-014-0086-x

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