A Basic Control Equation for Rendezvous Terminal Guidance

A basic rendezvous homing control equation, which adjusts the magnitude and direction of the acceleration of an interceptor vehicle in response to sensed interceptor-target relationships, is derived, and the selection of system gain parameters to give a desired dynamic behavior is described. Modifications to the basic control equation for the following system variations are discussed: 1) Rendezvous at a preset relative position or velocity, 2) Landing on the moon (or other extraterrestrial body), 3) Operation with a propulsion unit having a limited range of thrust variation, 4) Operation with a fixed-thrust pulsed propulsion unit.