Entry Vehicle Control System Design for the Mars Science Laboratory

摘要

The NASA Langley Research Center, in cooperation with the Jet Propulasion Laboratorty, participated in a preliminary design study of the entry, descent, and landing phase for the Mars Science Laboratory Project. This project uses advances in guidance, navigation, and control technology to significantly improve Mars surface targeting capability. A candidate entry controller based on the reaction control system controller for the Apollo command module digital autopilot is proposed for use in the entry attitude control. Modifications to the phase plane controller provide good bank-angle response, reduce jet-firing chattering for hogh-frequency updates, and allow for the option of aerodynamic angle feedback for the Martian entry probe application. The controller performance is demonstrated in a six-degrees-of-freedom simulation with representative aerodynamics.