RECENT ADVANCES IN AEROASSISTED OBITAL TRANSFER AND OPTIMAL CONTROL------OPENING A ROAD TO THE SPACE

To lower cost in space transportation is one of the keys tothe exploitation and exploration of space. Aeroassist technology, whichuses aerodynamic forces, can offer a significant increase in payload massdelivery capability. The optimal aeroassisted orbital transfer (AOT) andoptimal control are in the development stage, although the related theories havebeen studied since the early 1960's. Up to now the singularoptimal control problems in the thrust synergetic orbital transfer havenot been completely solved. The goal of the theoretical development is to establish theaccurate analysis methods for determining the best strategy with givenconstraints. Of critical importance is the development of guidance schemes in view of theprecision requirment of AOT trejectories and the need for coping withvarious sources of dispersion offects. A comprehensive historical review andsome recent progress of these fields are presented in this paper, and thefuture development of AOT vehicles will opening a road to the space.