Autonomous atmospheric entry on mars: Performance improvement using a novel adaptive control algorithm

Upcoming landing missions to Mars will require on-board guidance and control systems in order to meet the scientific requirement of landing safely within hundreds of meters to the target of interest. More specifically, in the longitudinal plane, the first objective of the entry guidance and control system is to bring the vehicle to its specified velocity at the specified altitude (as required for safe parachute deployment), while the second objective is to reach the target position in the longitudinal plane. This paper proposes an improvement to the robustness of the constant flight path angle guidance law for achieving the first objective. The improvement consists of combining this guidance law with a novel adaptive control scheme, derived from the so-called Simple Adaptive Control (SAC) technique. Monte-Carlo simulation results are shown to demonstrate the accuracy and the robustness of the proposed guidance and adaptive control system.

[1]  Prasun N. Desai,et al.  Mars exploration rovers entry, descent, and landing trajectory analysis , 2004 .

[2]  Ulrich M. Schoettle,et al.  Comparison of guidance concepts for a semi-ballistic reentry capsule , 1996 .

[3]  M. Paus.  A general approach to optimal real-time guidance of dynamic systems based on nonlinear programming , 1992 .

[4]  L. Bryant,et al.  Analytic drag control for precision landing and aerocapture , 1998 .

[5]  Jean de Lafontaine,et al.  Robust Guidance and Control Algorithms using Constant Flight Path Angle for Precision Landing on Mars , 2006 .

[6]  H. Kaufman,et al.  Simple adaptive control of large flexible space structures , 1993 .

[7]  Richard W. Powell,et al.  Systems for pinpoint landing at Mars , 2004 .

[8]  John W. Hardtla,et al.  NLP reentry guidance - Developing a strategy for low L/D vehicles , 1988 .

[9]  J. C. Harpold,et al.  Space Shuttle entry guidance performance results , 1983 .

[10]  J. Balaram,et al.  Mars Science Laboratory Simulations for Entry, Descent, and Landing , 2006 .

[11]  H. Kaufman,et al.  Implicit Adaptive Control for a Class of MIMO Systems , 1982, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

[12]  R. Braun,et al.  Mars Pathfinder atmospheric entry - Trajectory design and dispersion analysis , 1996 .

[13]  J. Broussard,et al.  Feedforward control to track the output of a forced model , 1978 .

[14]  Kuang-Yang Tu,et al.  Drag-Based Predictive Tracking Guidance for Mars Precision Landing , 1998 .

[15]  R. Wingrove.  SURVEY OF ATMOSPHERE RE-ENTRY GUIDANCE AND CONTROL METHODS , 1963 .

[16]  Itzhak Barkana,et al.  Classical and Simple Adaptive Control for Nonminimum Phase Autopilot Design , 2005 .

[17]  A. Roenneke,et al.  Re-entry control to a drag-vs-energy profile , 1994 .

[18]  Lisa Skalecki,et al.  General adaptive guidance using nonlinear programming constraint-solving methods , 1993 .

[19]  M. Balas,et al.  Model Reference Adaptive Control of Large Structural Systems , 1983 .

[20]  Jean de Lafontaine,et al.  Improvement to the Analytical Predictor-Corrector Guidance Algorithm Applied to Mars Aerocapture , 2005 .

[21]  W. D. Morse,et al.  Model following reconfigurable flight control system for the AFTI/F-16 , 1990 .

[22]  P. Kokotovic,et al.  Singular perturbations and robust redesign of adaptive control , 1982, 1982 21st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[23]  F. Regan,et al.  Dynamics of atmospheric re-entry , 1993 .

[24]  Erwin Mooij,et al.  Stability Analysis of an Adaptive Guidance and Control System applied to a Winged Re -entry Vehicle , 2005 .

[25]  H. Kaufman,et al.  Some Applications of Direct Adaptive Control to Large Structural Systems , 1983, 1983 American Control Conference.

[26]  H. Kaufman,et al.  Global stability and performance of a simplified adaptive algorithm , 1985 .

[27]  I. H. Mufti.  Model reference adaptive control for large structural systems , 1987 .

[28]  G. L. Adams E.A. Euler,et al.  Design and Reconstruction of the Viking Lander Descent Trajectories , 1978 .

[29]  Howard Kaufman,et al.  Direct Adaptive Control Algorithms , 1998 .

[30]  Howard Kaufman,et al.  Direct adaptive control algorithms: theory and applications , 1993, Choice Reviews Online.

[31]  Erwin Mooij.  Direct model reference adaptive control of a winged re-entry vehicle , 1999 .

[32]  Erwin Mooij,et al.  Simple Adaptive Bank-Reversal Control of a winged Re-entry Vehicle , 2004 .

[33]  Etienne Perot,et al.  An analytic aerocapture guidance algorithm for the Mars Sample Return Orbiter , 2000 .

[34]  Erwin Mooij.  Model Reference Adaptive Guidance for Re-entry Trajectory Tracking , 2004 .

[35]  Bruno Gardini.  The Aurora Mars Sample Return Mission , 2003 .

[36]  J. C. Harpold,et al.  Shuttle entry guidance , 1978 .