Abstract: In the scenario of intercepting a near space maneuvering target, the powered ascent phase of the interceptor has a significant impact on the midcourse guidance performance as well as the final interception precision. In this paper, an integrated guidance method is designed based on the model predictive static programming (MPSP) theory, which is able to efficiently generate the optimal trajectory as well as guidance commands for the powered ascent phase and the midcourse phase. First, an improved model predictive static programming method is proposed, which has merits of obtaining the optimal initial state, considering the terminal constraints, and solving the performance index with the states. Second, an equivalent drag model is established, then a two-phase programming model involving the powered and unpowered flight phases is developed. By using the piecewise discretization method and formulating the state variation relationship at the shutdown point, the interior point constraint is avoided, which ensures that the proposed MPSP algorithm can directly solve the two-phase programming problem. Finally, applying the proposed MPSP algorithm and two-phase programming model, the optimal trajectory is achieved to maximum the final speed. With the prediction of the target motion, predictive interception for the maneuvering target is accomplished. Simulation results show that the proposed method can improve the guidance accuracy and the final speed, even for highly maneuvering target.

Key words: near space target, midcourse intercept guidance, model predictive static programming, multi-phase programming, initial state programming, predictive guidance