Guidance strategy for an orbital vehicle during atmospheric reentry

In this thesis a study on the development and validation of a guidance algorithm is presented for an orbital vehicle during atmospheric reentry. This phase is a critical operation that that requires precise control to meet final conditions and achieve targeted landing accuracy. The main objective is to guarantee to reach the final states, minimizing deviations from a designated landing site. This objective is essential for improving both the safety and reliability of reentry missions, where a controlled descent can significantly influence mission outcomes. The project begins with a comprehensive literature review, analyzing a range of guidance algorithms that have been applied in past missions involving atmospheric reentry. different types of vehicles are considered, focusing on their aerodynamic properties and operational constraints, to identify a suitable candidate for simulations. This work was performed in collaboration with AVIO, a leading aerospace company, to analyze this algorithm in a real-world context, with a dedicated simulator as a testing environment. Through this simulator, an algorithm capable of generating a reference trajectory that the vehicle could follow during reentry has been developed. The algorithm includes a guidance law, which applies control commands to maintain the vehicle’s path close to this trajectory, taking into account atmospheric variations and other reentry complexities. The effectiveness of the algorithm is shown thanks to Monte Carlo analysis, to evaluate its performance under different conditions. This process allowed for a detailed assessment of the algorithm’s robustness, verifying its capacity to handle uncertainties and ensuring it could achieve the desired level of precision in reaching the target landing site.