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Integration of robust control design and flexible optimal guidance for reusable launch vehicles
Autonomy is a key enabler for successful and reliable space missions carried out with reusable rockets. This project will investigate the integration of optimal guidance strategies with the design of robust controllers for these challenging missions, which are in the forefront of space endeavours.
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in space endeavours boosted by the successful missions carried out with reusable rockets by the commercial companies Blue Origin and SpaceX. Reusability is a key enabler for a sustainable and cost-effective access to space, but poses important engineering challenges and thus it is not fully developed yet. One of these challenges is ensuring autonomous precision landing of space transportation systems in the face of: extreme environments; the need to precisely control the spacecraft's trajectory to avoid catastrophic impacts; complicated touchdown manoeuvres with limited control authority. These technical challenges are exacerbated by modeling and environmental uncertainties, which make essential to work with robust methodologies.
The main objective of the project is to investigate the integration of optimal guidance strategies, used to plan the trajectory of the spacecraft, with the design of robust controllers, which allow the trajectory to be tracked in the face of exogenous perturbations and model mismatches.
Specifically, focus will be on two phases of the typical mission for a reusable rocket booster, i.e. aerodynamic reentry and powered landing.
The project is in collaboration with Embotech AG (www.embotech.com), which will share its space and optimization expertise and the optimal guidance algorithm.
Students should apply with a CV, transcripts with grades, and possibly a short motivation letter.
Relevant subjects: Robust control, Optimization, Flight Dynamics. Experience on these topics is not a pre-requisite, but it is a plus. A good knowledge of the fundamental principles of state-space and frequency domain control design methods (e.g. loop-shaping) is expected.
This project is offered as a MasterArbeit/Master project only.
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in space endeavours boosted by the successful missions carried out with reusable rockets by the commercial companies Blue Origin and SpaceX. Reusability is a key enabler for a sustainable and cost-effective access to space, but poses important engineering challenges and thus it is not fully developed yet. One of these challenges is ensuring autonomous precision landing of space transportation systems in the face of: extreme environments; the need to precisely control the spacecraft's trajectory to avoid catastrophic impacts; complicated touchdown manoeuvres with limited control authority. These technical challenges are exacerbated by modeling and environmental uncertainties, which make essential to work with robust methodologies. The main objective of the project is to investigate the integration of optimal guidance strategies, used to plan the trajectory of the spacecraft, with the design of robust controllers, which allow the trajectory to be tracked in the face of exogenous perturbations and model mismatches. Specifically, focus will be on two phases of the typical mission for a reusable rocket booster, i.e. aerodynamic reentry and powered landing. The project is in collaboration with Embotech AG (www.embotech.com), which will share its space and optimization expertise and the optimal guidance algorithm.
Students should apply with a CV, transcripts with grades, and possibly a short motivation letter.
Relevant subjects: Robust control, Optimization, Flight Dynamics. Experience on these topics is not a pre-requisite, but it is a plus. A good knowledge of the fundamental principles of state-space and frequency domain control design methods (e.g. loop-shaping) is expected.
This project is offered as a MasterArbeit/Master project only.
Concretely, the expected outcome of the project is an integrated guidance-control design pipeline, whereby (parts of) a standard mission of a reusable rocket can be successfully achieved in the face of dynamic perturbations.
This will be pursued by breaking down the problem into smaller parts and looking for novel solutions from different perspectives. One concerns the investigation of more flexible robust control solutions, such as those offering more means of adaptation of the feedback law. Another considers the possibility to define, within the guidance problem, a controller-feasible constraint which aims at answering the practical problem: can one appropriately modify the guidance optimization problem so that the robust controller will be able to track all the possible resulting trajectories? This tight coupling between guidance and control is rarely explored and could represent an important new contribution to Guidance Navigation and Control for space transportation systems.
Preliminary control design models are available, and will be used initially to familiarize with the problem. The fidelity of the control design models will be improved (based on first principles) to capture relevant features of the problem.
A simulator (available and implemented in Simulink) will be used as ground truth to validate the results.
Concretely, the expected outcome of the project is an integrated guidance-control design pipeline, whereby (parts of) a standard mission of a reusable rocket can be successfully achieved in the face of dynamic perturbations.
This will be pursued by breaking down the problem into smaller parts and looking for novel solutions from different perspectives. One concerns the investigation of more flexible robust control solutions, such as those offering more means of adaptation of the feedback law. Another considers the possibility to define, within the guidance problem, a controller-feasible constraint which aims at answering the practical problem: can one appropriately modify the guidance optimization problem so that the robust controller will be able to track all the possible resulting trajectories? This tight coupling between guidance and control is rarely explored and could represent an important new contribution to Guidance Navigation and Control for space transportation systems.
Preliminary control design models are available, and will be used initially to familiarize with the problem. The fidelity of the control design models will be improved (based on first principles) to capture relevant features of the problem.
A simulator (available and implemented in Simulink) will be used as ground truth to validate the results.
Dr. Andrea Iannelli - iannelli@control.ee.ethz.ch
Prof. Roy S. Smith - rsmith@control.ee.ethz.ch