Optimal Hypersonic Vehicle Trajectories

What is it about?

The design of hypersonic vehicles is especially challenging due to a variety of unique reasons. Ultimately, the design must be robust enough to handle uncertainties in the operating conditions. A first step towards achieving this is the quantification of how uncertainties in design impact the ability of a vehicle to follow a prescribed flight path. This paper does exactly that by simulating the flight of a vehicle with aerodynamic characteristics different to those used in the trajectory planning stage.

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This work highlights the importance of robust design by demonstrating that slight deviations to a vehicle's aerodynamic characteristics can have a significant impact on its trajectory performance. This provides context for the use of multi-disciplinary design optimisation techniques for hypersonic vehicles, to ensure near-optimal flight performance.