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Main Authors: Santos, Pedro dos, Oliveira, Paulo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.05285
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author Santos, Pedro dos
Oliveira, Paulo
author_facet Santos, Pedro dos
Oliveira, Paulo
contents This paper proposes a pitch plane trajectory tacking control solution for suborbital launch vehicles relying on adaptive feedback linearization. Initially, the 2D dynamics and kinematics for a single-engine, thrust-vector-controlled sounding rocket are obtained for control design purposes. Then, an inner-outer control strategy, which simultaneously tackles attitude and position control, is adopted, with the inner-loop comprising the altitude and pitch control and the outer-loop addressing the horizontal (downrange) position control. Feedback linearization is used to cancel out the non-linearities in both the inner and outer dynamics. Making use of Lyapunov stability theory, an adaptation law, which provides online estimates on the inner-loop aerodynamic uncertainty, is jointly designed with the output tracking controller via adaptive backstepping, ensuring global reference tracking in the region where the feedback linearization is well-defined. The zero dynamics of the inner-stabilized system are then exploited to obtain the outerloop dynamics and derive a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) with integral action, which can stabilize them as well as reject external disturbances. In the outermost loop, the estimate on the correspondent aerodynamic uncertainty is indirectly obtained by using the inner loop estimates together with known aerodynamics relations. The resulting inner-outer position control solution is proven to be asymptotically stable in the region of interest. Using a single-stage sounding rocket, propelled by a liquid engine, as reference vehicle, different mission scenarios are tested in a simulation environment to verify the adaptability of the proposed control strategy. The system is able to track the requested trajectories while rejecting external wind disturbances. Furthermore, the need to re-tune the control gains in between different mission scenarios is minimal to none.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_05285
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Pitch Plane Trajectory Tracking Control for Sounding Rockets via Adaptive Feedback Linearization
Santos, Pedro dos
Oliveira, Paulo
Systems and Control
Dynamical Systems
This paper proposes a pitch plane trajectory tacking control solution for suborbital launch vehicles relying on adaptive feedback linearization. Initially, the 2D dynamics and kinematics for a single-engine, thrust-vector-controlled sounding rocket are obtained for control design purposes. Then, an inner-outer control strategy, which simultaneously tackles attitude and position control, is adopted, with the inner-loop comprising the altitude and pitch control and the outer-loop addressing the horizontal (downrange) position control. Feedback linearization is used to cancel out the non-linearities in both the inner and outer dynamics. Making use of Lyapunov stability theory, an adaptation law, which provides online estimates on the inner-loop aerodynamic uncertainty, is jointly designed with the output tracking controller via adaptive backstepping, ensuring global reference tracking in the region where the feedback linearization is well-defined. The zero dynamics of the inner-stabilized system are then exploited to obtain the outerloop dynamics and derive a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) with integral action, which can stabilize them as well as reject external disturbances. In the outermost loop, the estimate on the correspondent aerodynamic uncertainty is indirectly obtained by using the inner loop estimates together with known aerodynamics relations. The resulting inner-outer position control solution is proven to be asymptotically stable in the region of interest. Using a single-stage sounding rocket, propelled by a liquid engine, as reference vehicle, different mission scenarios are tested in a simulation environment to verify the adaptability of the proposed control strategy. The system is able to track the requested trajectories while rejecting external wind disturbances. Furthermore, the need to re-tune the control gains in between different mission scenarios is minimal to none.
title Pitch Plane Trajectory Tracking Control for Sounding Rockets via Adaptive Feedback Linearization
topic Systems and Control
Dynamical Systems
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.05285