Abstract
The design of reference trajectory with respect to drag acceleration is necessary to decelerate from hypersonic speed safely after atmosphere re-entry of space vehicle. The re-entry guidance design involves trajectory optimization, generation of a reference drag acceleration profile with the satisfaction of 6 trajectory constraints during the re-entry flight. This reference drag acceleration profile can be considered as the reference trajectory. The cost function is composed of the accumulated total heating on vehicle due to the reduction of weight. And a regularization is needed to prevent optimal drag profile from varying too fast and achieve realized trajectory. This paper shows the relations between velocity, drag acceleration and altitude in drag acceleration profile, and how to determine the reference trajectory.
