An Analytical Reentry Solution Based Online Time-Coordinated A* Path Planning Method for Hypersonic Gliding Vehicles Considering No-Fly-Zone Constraint

Abstract

To meet the time-coordinated requirement of hypersonic gliding vehicles to reach a single target simultaneously in the presence of no-fly-zone constraints, this paper proposes a time-coordinated A* path planning method considering multiple constraints. The path planning method is designed based on an analytical steady gliding path model and the framework of the A* algorithm. Firstly, an analytical steady gliding path model is designed based on a quadratic function-type altitude-velocity profile. It can derive the control commands explicitly according to the desired terminal altitude and velocity, thus establishing a mapping between the terminal states and the control commands. Secondly, the node extension method of the A* algorithm is improved based on the mapping. Taking the terminal states as new design variables, a feasible path-node set is produced by a one-step integration using the control commands derived according to different terminal states. This node extension method ensures the feasibility of the path nodes while satisfying terminal constraints. Next, the path evaluation function of the A* algorithm is modified by introducing a heuristic switching term to select the most proper node as a waypoint, aiming to minimize the arrival time deviation. Meanwhile, introducing the penalty items into the path evaluation function satisfies the no-fly-zone constraints, process constraints, and control variable constraints. Finally, an online time-coordinated method is proposed to determine a commonly desired arrival time for several hypersonic gliding vehicles. It eliminates the need to specify the arrival time in advance and improves the capability to deal with sudden threats, increasing the path planning method’s online application capability. The proposed method can achieve online time-coordinated multi-constraint path planning for several hypersonic gliding vehicles, whose effectiveness and superiority are verified by simulations.