Related papers: Why do launch trajectories end downwards
In this paper, we study an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-enabled wireless power transfer (WPT) network, where a UAV flies at a constant altitude in the sky to provide wireless energy supply for a set of ground nodes with a linear topology.…
Multicopters are becoming increasingly important in both civil and military fields. Currently, most multicopter propulsion systems are designed by experience and trial-and-error experiments, which are costly and ineffective. This paper…
With the aim of providing a first step in the quest for a reduction of the aerodynamic drag on the rear-end of a car, we study the phenomena of separation and reattachment of an incompressible flow focusing on a specific aerodynamic…
We derive the covariant optimality conditions for rocket trajectories in general relativity, with and without a bound on the magnitude of the proper acceleration. The resulting theory is then applied to solve two specific problems: the…
Optimal control theory is usually formulated as an indirect method requiring the solution of a two-point boundary value problem. Practically, the solution is obtained by iterative forward and backward propagation of quantum wavepackets.…
A classic problem of the motion of a point mass (projectile) thrown at an angle to the horizon is reviewed. The air drag force is taken into account with the drag factor assumed to be constant. Analytic approach is used for investigation.…
This paper studies the integrated spacecraft routing and trajectory optimization problem for satellite servicing missions involving partial en-route propellant replenishment. Unlike terrestrial routing problems, spacecraft operate in a…
The design of mission scenarios for the flyby investigation of nearby star systems by probes launched using directed energy is addressed. Multiple probes are launched with a fixed launch infrastructure, and download of scientific data…
We present an analytical solution for the projectile coplanar motion under constant drag parametrised by the velocity angle. We found the locus formed by the apices of the projectile trajectories. The range and time of flight are obtained…
In this paper a direct method based on a transcription by finite elements in time has been used to design optimal interplanetary trajectories, exploiting a combination of gravity assist maneuvers and low-thrust propulsion. A multiphase…
We discuss how searching for finite amplitude disturbances of a given energy which maximise their subsequent energy growth after a certain later time $T$ can be used to probe phase space around a reference state and ultimately to find other…
This paper investigates the use of Reinforcement Learning for the robust design of low-thrust interplanetary trajectories in presence of severe disturbances, modeled alternatively as Gaussian additive process noise, observation noise,…
A left-corner parsing algorithm with top-down filtering has been reported to show very efficient performance for unification-based systems. However, due to the nontermination of parsing with left-recursive grammars, top-down constraints…
Battery-hybrid power source architectures can reduce fuel consumption and emissions for ships with diverse operation profiles. However, conventional control strategies may fail to improve performance if the future operation profile is…
The penetration trajectory optimization problem for the hypersonic gliding vehicle (HGV) encountering two interceptors is investigated. The HGV penetration trajectory optimization problem considering the terminal target area is formulated…
In this paper we present a new approach to solve the fuel-efficient powered descent guidance problem on large planetary bodies with no atmosphere (e.g. the Moon or Mars) using the recently developed Theory of Functional Connections. The…
This paper presents an analysis of optimal impact strategies to deflect potentially dangerous asteroids. To compute the increase in the minimum orbit intersection distance of the asteroid due to an impact with a spacecraft, simple…
Model Predictive Static Programming (MPSP) was always used under the assumption of continuous control, which impedes it for applications with bang-off-bang control directly. In this paper, MPSP is employed for the first time as a guidance…
This work shows the existence of optimal control laws for persistent monitoring of mobile targets in a one-dimensional mission space and derives explicit solutions. The underlying performance metric consists of minimizing the total…
This paper delves into a rendezvous scenario involving a chaser and a target spacecraft, focusing on the application of Model Predictive Control (MPC) to design a controller capable of guiding the chaser toward the target. The operational…