Surrogate model-based multi-objective MDO approach for partially Reusable Launch Vehicle design

Reusability of the first stage of launch vehicles may offer new perspectives to lower the cost of payload injection into orbit if sufficient reliability and low refurbishment costs can be achieved. One possible option that may be explored is to design the launch vehicle first stage for both reusable and expendable uses, in order to increase the flexibility and adaptability to different target missions. This paper proposes a multi-level MDO approach to design aerospace vehicles addressing multi-mission problems. The proposed approach is focused on the design of a family of launchers for different missions sharing commonalities using multi-objective Bayesian Optimization to account for the computational cost associated with the discipline simulations. The multi-mission problem addressed in this paper considers two missions: a reusable configuration for a SSO orbit with a medium payload range and recovery of the first stage using a glider strategy; and an expendable configuration for a medium payload injected into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). A dedicated MDO formulation introducing couplings between the missions is proposed in order to efficiently solve the multi-objective MDO problem while limiting the number of calls to the exact MDA thanks to the use of Gaussian Processes and multi-objective Efficient Global Optimization.