Optimum maneuvers of a skip vehicle with bounded lift constraints

This paper presents the analytical solutions of the problem of optimum maneuvering of a glide vehicle flying in the hypervelocity regime. The investigation is based on the approximation of Allen and Eggers; namely, that along the fundamental part of a reentry or ascent trajectory, the aerodynamic forces greatly exceed the components of the gravitational force in the directions tangent and normal to the flight path.The problem consists of finding an optimal control law for the lift such that the final velocity or the final altitude is maximized. This problem can be viewed as bringing the vehicle to the best condition for interception, penetration, or making an evasive maneuver.If the range is free, the optimal lift control is obtained in closed form. If the lift control is bounded, then bounded control is optimal whenever it is reached. The switching sequences for different cases are discussed, and it is shown that there are at most two switchings. Bounded lift control is always at the ends of the optimal trajectory; for the case of two switchings, the optimal trajectory has an inflection point.The authors wish to thank the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the Grant No. NGR-06-003-033 under which this work was carried out.