Variable angle-of-attack profile entry guidance for a crewed lifting body

The feasibility of ying a crewed lifting body, such as the HL-20, during entry from low-Earth orbit without steady-state body ap de ections was evaluated. This entry strategy mitigates the severity of the aerothermal environment on the vehicle’s body aps and reserves control power for transient maneuvers. A numeric predictor-corrector entry guidance algorithm was developed to accommodate the range of vehicle trim angle-of-attack pro les possible when steady-state body ap de ections are prohibited. Results show that the guidance algorithm is capable of steering the vehicle to a desired target from low-Earth orbit while satisfying a reasonable suite of trajectory constraints, including limits on peak heat rate, peak sensed deceleration, and integrated heat load. Uncertainty analyses conrm this result and show that the vehicle maintains signi cant performance robustness to expected day-ofight uncertainties. Additionally, parametric scans over mission design parameters of interest indicate a high level of exibility is available for the low-Earth orbit return mission. Together, these results indicated that the proposed entry strategy is feasible: crewed lifting bodies may be e ectively own without steady-state body ap de ections.

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