Optimal Guidance Law Using Exact Linearization (ICCAS 2005)

In this paper, we present a new guidance law for a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) that lands vertically after reentry. In our past studies, a guidance law was developed for a vertical/soft landing to a target point. The guidance law, which is analytically obtained, can regenerate a trajectory against disturbances because it is expressed in the form of state feedback. However, the guidance law does not necessarily guarantee a vertical/soft landing when a dynamical system such as an RLV includes a nonlinear phenomenon owing to the atmosphere of the earth. In this study, we introduce a design of the guidance law for a nonlinear system to achieve a vertical/soft landing on the ground using the exact linearization method and solving the two-point boundary-value problem for the derived linear system. Numerical simulation confirmed the validity of the proposed guidance law for an RLV in an atmospheric environment.