An orbit injection capability assessment and iterative guidance method for depleted shutdown solid launch vehicles

To reduce costs and improve payload capacity, modern solid launch vehicles usually use the depleted shutdown solid motors. Because of the incapacity to control thrust, fuel burning rate and shutdown time, the energy management guidance method is the key technology for this kind of launch vehicles to complete high precision orbit injection and overcome various dispersions in the meantime. To solve this problem, a guidance method with iteration is proposed for launch vehicles with depleted shutdown solid motors by energy management attitude in yaw channel, the method is able to assess the vehicle's orbit injection capability in real-time before the injection stage ignition and implement direct injection. Numerical simulation result showed its adequately high accuracy of orbit injection and considerable value for the depleted shutdown solid launch vehicles.