Reentry guidance with extended range capability for low L/D spacecraft

A generalized reentry/precision landing algorithm using bank angle modulation control was designed for a low lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) spacecraft that enables precision landing for target locations between 2,400 km and 10,000 km downrange of Entry Interface (EI). The Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) design concept was used as the main test case for this algorithm, but the algorithm is general enough to be extensible to similar vehicle concepts with different vehicle characteristics. The algorithm was tested against various reentry scenarios including perturbations in initial entry conditions, vehicle mass and aerodynamic properties, and atmospheric density. The algorithm was shown to be robust to these uncertainties to allow a landing error of less than 3.5 km for the entire 2,400 km - 10,000 km landing footprint. The guidance algorithm is based on the Apollo entry guidance algorithm. The guidance phases pertaining to short range reentries have remained essentially unaltered.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Bairstow, Sarah Hendrickson

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gregg H. Barton and John J. Deyst, Jr.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35295

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35295