CHANGO: A Software Tool for Boost Stage Guidance of the Space Launch System Exploration Mission 1

The Day of Launch Initiation Load Update (DOLILU) System is the means by which the Space Launch System (SLS) Vehicle trajectory is designed, verified, and uploaded on the Day of Launch (DOL) in order to ensure a safe flight. Launch vehicles are designed to fly down a narrow angle of attack and sideslip angle corridor in order to keep them within structural load limits. The angle of attack and sideslip angle response to the launch vehicle experiences can vary significantly based upon the winds experienced on the DOL. SLS Boost Stage flight employs an open-loop guidance scheme through Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation. In the SLS open-loop scheme, the vehicle will fly a prescribed set of attitudes as a function of the change in altitude since launch. This set of reference attitude values and corresponding altitude reference independent values are designed with ground software using winds measured on the DOL with the goal of minimizing angle of attack and sideslip angle, thereby minimizing related ascent integrated vehicle structural loads. The table of Boost Stage attitude commands as a function of altitude gained since launch is called the chi table. A software tool called CHANGO (Chi Angle Optimizer) designs the Boost Stage chi table which is uploaded to the vehicle’s flight computer and used during ascent by the flight software (FSW). The wind and atmospheric conditions are measured prior to launch and pre-processed to become input to the CHANGO software along with a set of parameters developed in advance of the DOL. CHANGO’s target set consists of the heading and altitude rate at SRB separation determined well before launch by the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST). CHANGO consists of a simplified three degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) simulation representing the SLS launch configuration. In general, the launch azimuth is strongly correlated with the heading at SRB separation, and the initial pitchover rate is strongly correlated with the altitude rate at SRB separation. CHANGO uses an adaptation of Powell’s method to vary the initial pitchover rate and launch azimuth to solve a 2-dimentional minimization problem. CHANGO’s trajectory simulation is phase-based, with flight events separating the phases. Each flight phase has different attitude alignment logic. CHANGO’s 3-DOF simulation starts when the vehicle’s thrust-to-weight ratio equals one, and ends at a pre-calculated SRB separation time.