Hybrid Neighboring-Optimal-Control and Lambert-Based Interceptor Boost-Phase Guidance,
Abstract
Finding guidance methods that efficiently and effectively handle the problem of directing the boost-phase portion of an exoatmospheric tactical ballistic missile interceptor is an active area of research. This paper presents a candidate method that is a hybrid combination of three algorithms. The chief method, used throughout the majority of the flight, is a minimum-time neighboring optimal control scheme. As demonstrated through Monte Carlo simulations, perturbations in the predicted intercept point (caused by boost-phase updates of the target state estimate received from an exogenous radar) are corrected for in a smooth manner which preserves performance. Even large corrections are handled with low angles of attack, and less than one percent changes in burnout velocity relative to theoretical open-loop optimal control values. Near the end of the booster burn, the guidance scheme switches over to two Lambert-based guidance methods, which have the effect of taking out residual velocity errors, thus putting the interceptor on a nearly exact intercept path to the latest estimate of the target trajectory. The total scheme, while being somewhat computationally complex in pre-deployment development, is actually computationally simple for on-board computations, and has a small computer memory requirement. Therefore, the robust performance combined with the light computational burden provided by this hybrid algorithm make it a competitive candidate for boost-phase interceptor guidance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA329043
Entities
People
- Craig A. Martell
- John A. Lawton
Organizations
- Naval Surface Warfare Center