1. Daniel Chua 18 January 2008 Trajectory Simulation Simulation Assumptions – Flat Earth and Constant Thrust
AAE 450 Spring 2008

2. Trajectory Simulation – Flat Earth
Linear Tangent Steering Law assumes a Flat Earth – constant g.
Simulation inputs taken from Vanguard report.
Constant Thrust
Constant Mass Flow
With/without decreasing g
~3% difference
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Trajectory Optimization

3. Trajectory Simulation – Constant Thrust
Vanguard report only gives average thrust for each stage
Engines actually take some time to ramp up/down
Thrust Profile model:
Future Work
Run constant/variable
thrust models
Compare
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Trajectory Optimization

4. Thrust Profile Model (Backup)
One-eighth of burn time used to ramp up/down
Linear ramp
Constant peak thrust
Average thrust for each stage same as Vanguard
References
Klaurans, B., “The Vanguard Satellite Launching Vehicle” The Martin Company, Engineering Report No , April 1960
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Trajectory Optimization