Optimum propellant usage for reaction jet systems of space vehiclesThe on-off type control for reaction jet systems is proven to be the optimal fuel scheme. However, due to the nonlinear characteristics of this type control, no direct method of solution is known for this optimal process being applied to the attitude control of space vehicles. This paper will discuss the optimization of fuel usage for an attitude control of space vehicles. A computation technique is developed for the calculation of optimal control law. The method of calculus of variations is applied to the estimation of the changes of performance index as well as terminal constraints. Thus an algorithm is obtained by the steepest descent method. A numerical example is given in the paper.
Document ID
19740052485
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Liu, T. C. (Tennessee, University Tullahoma, Tenn., United States)
Thompson, Z.
Fisher, P. H., Jr. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala., United States)