Near optimal guidance law for descent to a point using inverse problem approach

An explicit guidance law that maximizes terminal velocity is developed for a reentry vehicle to a fixed target. Motion is constrained to an optimal, three-dimensional Bezier curve. Acceleration commands are derived by solving an inverse problem related to Bezier parameters. An optimal Bezier curve is determined by solving a real-coded genetic algorithm. For online trajectory generation, optimal trajectory is approximated by fixing the second control point of the Bezier curve. The approximated trajectory is compared with the pure proportional navigation, genetic algorithm and direct transcription's solutions. The near optimal terminal velocity solution compares very well with these solutions. The approach robustness is examined by Monte Carlo simulation.