Dynamics, Guidance and Control of Aerospace Vehicles

Dear Colleagues,

Today, aerospace vehicles have a wide range of applications, including in satellites, probes, landers, hypersonic glide vehicles, missiles, etc. On the other hand, requirements for the guidance and control systems of aerospace vehicles are increasing. Firstly, aerospace vehicles must satisfy multiple terminal and process constraints to achieve specific objectives. Secondly, the current trend of multifunctional space vehicles highlights the need for the cooperative control/guidance of multiple vehicles to enable them to perform certain tasks that used to be conducted by a single conventional aerospace vehicle, or to achieve multiple goals at once. Thirdly, the strong nonlinearity of some dynamics will impede the analysis of dynamic systems and the design of guidance and control strategies for aerospace vehicles.

This Special Issue aims to feature original research papers, as well as comprehensive state-of-the-art surveys, on recent scientific discoveries and technological advancements in the dynamics, guidance and control of aerospace vehicles. Topics include, but are not limited to: 

• Analytical dynamic models;
• Aerospace vehicle dynamics;
• Trajectory planning;
• Entry guidance;
• Multi-constraint guidance;
• Cooperative guidance;
• The dynamics and control of formation flying;
• Trajectory optimization.

We look forward to receiving your submissions, and invite you to contact us if you have any questions.

Prof. Dr. Wanchun Chen
Dr. Wenbin Yu
Dr. Zhongyuan Chen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• analytical dynamic models
• aerospace vehicle dynamics
• trajectory planning
• entry guidance
• multi-constraint guidance
• cooperative guidance
• dynamics and control of formation flying
• trajectory optimization
• optimal control of aerospace vehicles

Title: Long-term perturbed orbit propagation method based on node correction and incremental iteration
Author: Dong
Highlights: (1) A numerical computation method is proposed for iterative computation using integral increments (2) Analyzes the influencing factors when using the method for orbit propagation calculations (3) Designed a computational scheme for long-term orbits based on node corrections (4) Experimental evidence that the proposed method can increase the computational speed by tens of times

Title: High Order Control Lyapunov-Barrier Functions for Real-Time Optimal Control of Constrained Non-Affine 6-DoF Powered Descent
Authors: Alaa Eddine Chriat; Chuangchuang Sun
Affiliation: Mississippi State University
Abstract: This paper presents a synthesis of higher-order control Lyapunov functions (HOCLF) and higher-order control barrier functions (HOCBF) capable of controlling non-linear dynamic systems while maintaining safety. Building on previous Lyapunov formulations, we propose a HOCLF form that ensures convergence of non-convex dynamics with convex control inputs to target states. We combine the HOCLF with HOCBF to ensure forward invariance of admissible sets and guarantee safety. This online non-convex optimal control problem is then formulated as a convex Quadratic Program (QP) that can be efficiently solved on board for real-time applications. Lastly, we propose a heuristic approach to determine the HOCLBF coefficients, by maximizing the rate of convergence and tightening the safety constraints, which eventually ensures the feasibility of the QPs, which was an inherent limitation of high-order CBFs. The efficacy of the suggested algorithm is demonstrated on the real-time six-degree-of-freedom powered descent optimal control problem, where simulation results were run efficiently on a standard laptop.

Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Differential Game Guidance Law Against a Maneuvering Target
Authors: Axing Xi; Yuanli Cai
Affiliation: Xi'an Jiaotong University
Abstract: To achieve intelligent interception of different types of maneuvering targets, based on deep reinforcement learning, a novel intelligent differential game guidance law (IDGGL) is proposed in the continuous action domain. Different from traditional guidance laws, the proposed guidance law does not require the complex nonlinear model and can avoid the tedious manual setting. Firstly, the interception problem is transformed into pursuit-evasion game problem. Next, the Nash equilibrium strategy is solved by the Markov game theory. In order to obtain the proposed IDGGL, an actor-critic neural network based on Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) is constructed to calculate the saddle point of the differential game guidance problem. Then, a reasonably reward function is designed, which includes the tradeoffs among guidance accuracy, energy consumption, and interception time. Finally, some simulations are conducted on intercepting different types of maneuvering targets, and all results reveal that the proposed IDGGL algorithm has better intelligent decision-making ability.

Title: Research on Honeycomb Structure for Pyroshock Isolation at Spacecraft-Rocket Interface
Authors: Xixiong Wang; Zhibo Gao; Dong Cheng; Xuchen Deng; Tao Yu; Zhaoye Qin; Fulei Chu
Affiliation: School of Electromechanical and Automotive Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Abstract: Honeycomb is a splendid kind of structure for aerospace engineering with the advantage of light weight, good shock absorption and good structural stability. This article aims to provide methods to isolate Pyroshock based on honeycomb structure and guarantee the safety of such equipment against high-frequency shock response. According to stress wave theory, an equation for stress wave transmittance of honeycomb structure is derived considering the effect of cell wall length and thickness, where desirable honeycomb parameters are obtained. The complexity of transfer path of the honeycomb structure is exploited to build the spacecraft-rocket interface, which could increase the impedance of the stress wave dramatically. Both finite element analysis and experiments are carried out to validate the shock isolation strategies. The influence of parameters such as cell wall length and thickness of stainless steel honeycomb on the isolation performance is analyzed. It is revealed that the honeycomb structure has the significant effect on Pyroshock isolation performance when the wall length of the honeycomb cell is 8 mm and the thickness of the cell is 0.1 mm.

Title: Stability analysis and dynamic simulations for gravity gradient of a large rigid space structure
Authors: Chenglei Tang; Jialiang Sun; Dongping Jin
Affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Abstract: The attitude dynamics and orbit dynamics of large rigid space structures are coupled with each other under gravity gradient, which may affect the stability of the large rigid space structures. In this paper, the gravity gradient stability of a large rigid space structure is studied under both small and large disturbances. Based on the rigid body dynamics and orbit dynamics, an accurate dynamic model without any linearization of the large rigid space structure is established via the natural coordinate formulation (NCF), which is able to describe the large overall motions of the structures. By using the generalized-α algorithm, the gravity gradient stability of the large rigid space structure is simulated and analyzed via various examples, including the influence of large disturbance angles, the positions at the stabilization and unstabilization regions. Finally, the relationship between spinning stability and gravity gradient stability is also investigated via a large spinning space structure.