Inventors:
Peter B. Howard - Arlington MA
Martin V. Boelitz - Watertown MA
Thomas W. De Swarte - North Reading MA
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC
International Classification:
F42B 1328
Abstract:
A method for steering solid propellant ballistic vehicles during powered flight which eliminates the requirement for cutoff control by allowing simultaneous fuel depletion and velocity-to-be-gained, V. sub. G, nulling. The vehicle booster is steered along a velocity trajectory of length equal to the remaining velocity capability, V. sub. CAP, which results in a fuel-inefficient trajectory. The trajectory is divided basically into three phases--an exit phase, a fuel-depletion guidance (FDG) phase and a short phase of constant attitude thrusting just prior to final stage burnout. For the exit phase the launch azimuth and the pitch-over magnitude can be varied from their usual fuel-efficient values. During fuel-depletion guidance the additional degree of freedom is the angle,. theta. , between V. sub.