Space Shuttle entry guidance performance results

Abstract

The performance of the Orbiter entry guidance system has been excellent during all of the space shuttle flights. This paper summarizes the entry guidance objectives and control concepts, reviews the entry guidance preflight predicted results, and presents the significant entry guidance and trajectory flight results from the first three Orbiter flights. Emphasis is on the steady-state characteristics from the first and third missions and on the transitory response characteristics resulting from the major Orbiter aerodynamic test maneuvers on the second flight.