Entry control allocation for reusable launch vehicle

An integrated method for the implementation of constrained entry control allocation for a reusable launch vehicle is presented. Given any feasible torque commands and control vector constraints, the method can generate control commands to each individual effectors including aerosurfaces and reaction control system (RCS) jets with a desired objective, featuring active set theory, optimal extremum method, and daisy-chained method, which satisfies all the control vector constraints and meets the requirement with high precision and onboard calculation ability. Afterwards, by utilizing unique features of effector failure status parameter, establishing the vehicle health monitor, and generating the reconfigurable control action according to hierarchical message processing technique, the method enables the control allocation system to compensate for inaccuracies and provide reliable and solid performance in the presence of effector failures/degradations. To compare with various control allocation algorithms, onboard reconfigurable control allocations and simulations for a reusable launch vehicle model with effector failures/degradations are presented to demonstrate the capacity and efficiency of this method