Impact angle and impact velocity constrained terminal guidance for stationary target

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel guidance law for hypervelocity descent to a stationary target such that the impact angle and impact velocity can be constrained.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method is based on inverse dynamics and is designed using a third-order Bézier curve approximation to the reference trajectory.

Findings

Simulations indicate that the proposed law is able to satisfy impact angle and impact velocity constraints as well as follow control and path limitations in the case of guidance under perturbations. Comparisons with other methods also indicate better performance.

Research limitations/implications

The onboard implementation requires an offline selection of Bézier parameters.

Practical implications

The presented scheme could be extremely important for further research on automated onboard control of impact angle and velocity for both re-entry and terminal guidance laws.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative method for the solution of an inverse dynamics-based guidance law using Bézier curve approximation.

Citation

Zhou, H., Rahman, T. and Chen, W. (2015), "Impact angle and impact velocity constrained terminal guidance for stationary target", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 87 No. 5, pp. 454-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-09-2013-0164