Adaptive Guidance for Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM)of Reentry Vehicles

Abstract

A simple guidance algorithm is developed for the TAEM phase of a reentry vehicle. Guidance in the vertical plane relies on a prespecified dynamic pressure profile. Horizontal guidance relies on a ground track geometry consisting of a sequence of turns and straight line flight. From the initial position the ground track is planned based on 3 circles whose positions are computed automatically depending on the geometric situation. This makes the algorithm adaptive. For both the vertical plane and the horizontal plane motion simple control laws are developed which keep the trajectory along the intended path. It is shown in simulations that accuracy in achieving the desired end conditions is sufficient compared to mission requirements.