A Suboptimal Guidance Design using Continuous-time MPSP with Input Inequality Constraint in a Hypersonic Mission

A newly developed nonlinear continuous-time model predictive static programming (MPSP) technique with input inequality constraints is presented in this paper for a carrier launch vehicle in a hypersonic mission, which leads to a closed form solution of the necessary guidance command. The proposed optimal guidance algorithm can be implemented online and leads to computational efficient. In this paper, the trajectory of the launch vehicle from launch point to terminal injection point is divided into two segments. In the first segment, a nonlinear feedback guidance loop using dynamic inversion is incorporated to assure vertical raise in presence of wind disturbance, thrust misalignment etc for launch clearance. In the second segment, the proposed guidance algorithm is incorporated to ensure the desired terminal conditions within a tight error bound with minimum control effort and to satisfy the others path constraints like desired control (angle of attack) effort in the transonic zone and high dynamics pressure region. The promising simulation results suggest that the proposed guidance algorithm with input inequality constraints is quite successful in obtaining the performance of the carrier launch vehicle.