Controllability analysis of guidance methods for Mars aeroassisted maneuver

Abstract Aeroassisted maneuvers have become a research hotspot due to their fuel-saving advantages compared to traditional space orbital maneuvers, and it is necessary to analyze the controllability conditions for aeroassisted maneuver guidance. This paper focuses on two typical predictor-corrector guidance methods for aeroassisted maneuvers. From the perspectives of flight dynamics and fuel consumption, the initial entry flight path angle (FPA) and initial entry velocity are selected as analysis variables. The controllability criterion is determined based on the required velocity increment for maneuvers after exiting the atmosphere. A traversal method and a controllable boundary search scheme are designed to define and calculate the set of controllable conditions. In a typical Mars aeroassisted maneuver scenario, controllability calculations and analyses of different guidance methods are carried out, whose results validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the developed methods.