Development of a Novel Algorithm for High Performance Reentry Guidance

Abstract

While Europe has done tremendous steps forward in many aspects of space technology, there is still a gap for what regards the development of the technologies for a safe and reliable atmospheric entry. Several US-based programs such as NASA s Orion, SpaceX s Dragon, and Sierra Nevada Corporation s Dream Chaser show that this capability is essential for a fruitful and safe access to space. In this thesis a dual strategy is proposed. In what we call main guidance, novel methods based on optimal control, adaptive trajectory generation, and sliding-mode control, are developed and tested. In what we call backup guidance, a traditional drag-tracking method is applied to the SHEFEX-3 scenario. Some of the hypotheses usually valid for other scenarios, are here rejected. For this reason, the method developed for SHEFEX-3 can be seen as a generalization of the traditional methods used for entry guidance of vehicles like the Space Shuttle or the IXV.