A numerical analysis of lateral range calculation and optimization
- Paper ID
IAF-66-117
- author
- company
Università di Napoli
- country
Italy
- year
1966
- abstract
In the study of lateral maneuvering during hypervelocity glide, the lateral range attained for a given initial speed is dependent on the bank angle schedule. Near orbital speed little vertical lift component is required, and bank angles near 90° may be used, generating large turn rates. As the velocity decreases along the glide, the bank angle must decrease to support the difference between the centrifugal force and the weight. Only one analytical solution (the minor circle turn Refs. 1, 2) has been available to date for lateral maneuvering on a spherical planet. This minor circle solution has the characteristics described above but has not yet optimized nor extended to other than constant values of the parameter, Q introduced in Refs. 1 and 2. In the present paper the minor circle parameter is optimized for constant and variable values of this parameter. The analysis was performed by means of an electronic computer and is based on an expansion in the Fourier series of the parameter Q.