OPTIMUM GUIDED ASCENT,

Abstract

Presented in this paper are simple approximate closedform equations for the thrust attitude pitch program to minimize propellant consumption for any spacecraft or missile ascending in a vacuum. A small amount of aerodynamic force, such as frequently occurs in the early part of guided flight, should not invalidate these equations. Also presented are explicit guidance equations for the optimum pitch program, which were developed specifically for the case of constant thrust and propellant flow rate. Since the form of the optimum pitch angle-versus-time equation is independent of the variation of thrust acceleration with time, continuous application of this program is permitted through more than one propulsion stage to achieve maximum performance. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 25, 1964
Accession Number
AD0602651

Entities

People

  • Frank M. Perkins

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Forces
  • Equations
  • Flow Rate
  • Guidance
  • Physical Properties
  • Propellants
  • Spacecraft

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Regression Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers