Guidance of Terminal Area Energy Management Trajectories for Re-entry Vehicles

Abstract

One of the most critical periods of a space-plane re-entry is the Terminal Area Energy Management (TAEM) phase, where performance utilizing on-board generation is required. The ability of an autonomous Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) to recover from unforeseen disruptions is considerably enhanced by on-board trajectory-generating capabilities. Contemporary guiding approaches can reduce operational expenses and design time by utilizing modern computer power and faster algorithms. Also, it is increase the RLV mission resilience and efficiency at the same time. In this paper, the complete method of how to control and land an RLV, using the guidance system and control algorithms during the TAEM phase of re-entry has been discussed. The paper has been produced after thorough research on the newer guidance techniques, control laws and the guidance algorithms which relate mainly to the TAEM phase.