ON THE PROBLEM OF OPTIMAL THRUST PROGRAMMING FOR A LUNAR SOFT LANDING,

Abstract

The problem of minimal fuel thrust programming for the terminal phase of a lunar soft landing mission is shown to be equivalent to the minimal time problem for the mission. The existence of an optimal (minimal fuel) thrust program for the problem is then assured by appealing to existence theorems for time optimal controls, and the optimal thrust program is developed by application of the Pontryagin maximum principle. The optimal thrust program is shown to consist of either full thrust from the initiation of the mission until touchdown, or a period of zero thrust (free-fall) followed by full thrust until touchdown. An approximate switching function which is adequate for a large number of cases is derived, and a preliminary system design is presented. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 31, 1963
Accession Number
AD0429017

Entities

People

  • J. S. Meditch

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computer Programming
  • Landing
  • Soft Landings
  • Switching

Readers

  • Operations Research
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers