Related papers: Why do launch trajectories end downwards
The minimum-fuel orbital transfer is analyzed in the case of a launcher upper stage using a constantly thrusting engine. The thrust level is assumed to be constant and its value is optimized together with the thrust direction. A closed-loop…
Recent successful lunar landing missions have generated significant interest among space agencies in establishing a permanent human settlement on the Moon. Building a lunar base requires multiple and frequent landing missions to support…
We study the minimum time control problem of the launchers. The optimal trajectories of the problem may contain singular arcs, and thus chattering arcs. The motion of the launcher is described by its attitude kinematics and dynamics and…
The problem under consideration is to drive a spatial vehicle to a target at a given final time while minimizing fuel consumption. This is a classical optimal control problem in a deterministic setting. However temporary stochastic failures…
The optimization of low-thrust, multi-revolution orbit transfer trajectories is often regarded as a difficult problem in modern astrodynamics. In this paper, a flexible and computationally efficient approach is presented for the…
This paper studies a vertical powered descent problem in the context of planetary landing, considering glide-slope and thrust pointing constraints and minimizing any final cost. In a first time, it proves the Max-Min-Max or Max-Singular-Max…
In this project, we attempt to optimize a landing trajectory of a rocket. The goal is to minimize the total fuel consumption during the landing process using different techniques. Once the optimal and feasible trajectory is generated using…
In this paper, we propose a strategy to solve endo-atmospheric launch vehicle optimal control problems using indirect methods. More specifically, we combine shooting methods with an adequate continuation algorithm, taking advantage of the…
Identifying the optimal design of a new launch vehicle is most important since design decisions made in the early development phase limit the vehicles' later performance and determines the associated costs. Reusing the first stage via…
This paper presents a convex programming approach to the optimization of a multistage launch vehicle ascent trajectory, from the liftoff to the payload injection into the target orbit, taking into account multiple nonconvex constraints,…
In this paper, we consider a trajectory planning problem arising from a lunar vertical landing with minimum fuel consumption. The vertical landing requirement is written as a final steering angle constraint, and a nonnegative regularization…
We consider the actuator placement problem for linear systems. Specifically, we aim to identify an actuator which requires the least amount of control energy to drive the system from an arbitrary initial condition to the origin in the worst…
A conceptual design of a launch vehicle involves the optimization of trajectory and stages considering its launch operations. This process encompasses various disciplines, such as structural design, aerodynamics, propulsion systems, flight…
The trajectory optimization of the atmospheric entry of a reusable launch vehicle is studied. The objective is to maximize the crossrange of the vehicle subject to two control-inequality path constraints, two state-inequality path…
The use of electric low-thrust propulsion systems for orbit maneuvers is becoming a popular choice among satellite manufacturers due to their inherent merits over their chemical counterparts. Many designers choose to incorporate multiple of…
Low-thrust engines for interplanetary spacecraft transfers allow cost-effective space missions with flexible launch and arrival dates. To find fuel-optimal trajectories, an optimal control problem is to be solved. Pontryagin's Maximum…
Optimization of low-thrust trajectories that involve a larger number of orbit revolutions is considered a challenging problem. This paper describes a high-precision symplectic method and optimization techniques to solve the minimum-energy…
This paper presents a novel synthesis method for designing an optimal and robust guidance law for a non-throttleable upper stage of a launch vehicle, using a convex approach. In the unperturbed scenario, a combination of lossless and…
This study proposes a new automated strategy for designing and optimizing three-dimensional interplanetary low-thrust (LT) trajectories. The method formulates the design as a hybrid optimal control problem and solves it using a two-step…
This paper presents a novel algorithm, based on model predictive control (MPC), for the optimal guidance of a launch vehicle upper stage. The proposed strategy not only maximizes the performance of the vehicle and its robustness to external…