导航

ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (11): 525050-525050.doi: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2021.25050

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Review of guidance and control technologies for reusable launch vehicles

SONG Zhengyu1, CAI Qiaoyan1, HAN Pengxin2, WANG Cong3, PAN Hao3, ZHANG Guangchun2, LI Xujin2   

  1. 1. China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, Beijing 100076, China;
    2. Aerospace Business Department, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, Beijing 100076, China;
    3. Beijing Aerospace Automatic Control Institute, Beijing 100854, China
  • Received:2020-12-03 Revised:2020-12-17 Published:2021-05-10
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (619330101010801)

Abstract: This paper reviews the guidance and control technologies of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). With the development of the aerospace technology, the demand for RLVs is also increasing rapidly. It has been one of the important goals of the aerospace industry to acquire the capability of reusable transportation to and from space. Guidance and control technologies play an important role in the development of RLVs. This paper first reviews the research progress of RLVs worldwide, analyzing their development approaches from different views of point, and sorting out the requirements of guidance and control from three aspects:Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL), Vertical Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (VTHL), and Horizontal Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (HTHL). The complete guidance and control models, constraints and objective functions for RLVs of different liftoff and landing modes are elaborated. The features and challenges of the guidance and control technologies in different scenarios are compared. Theoretical and practical achievements in guidance and control for VTVL, VTHL, and HTHL missions are reviewed, and the characteristics of these methods are analyzed and compared. The technical challenges and development trends in guidance and control of RLVs are also explored, and the key research directions to promote the application of RLVs are discussed.

Key words: reusable launch vehicle, guidance and control, vertical takeoff and vertical landing, vertical takeoff and horizontal landing, horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing

CLC Number: