Designing an electromechanical capture system for in-air capturing of winged RLVs

Abstract In-air capturing is a promising concept for recovering winged reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) using a towing aircraft (TA), without the need for any propulsion on board the RLV during descent. In this paper, the preliminary electromechanical design of an airborne device is presented, which is central to in-air capturing. The device is an autonomous system, towed by the TA, and docks with a boom attached to the nose of the RLV. A design space exploration and load analysis are performed using a simplified towing model, revealing significantly higher towing loads compared to previous estimates. The design of a probe-drogue docking mechanism is proposed, which uses a set of actuated wedges to lock the RLV boom in place. Actuator and sensor solutions are studied, aiming at a redundant and robust mechanism design. Based on reference commercial-off-the-shelf components, the size, weight, and power footprints of essential avionics are estimated, and a preliminary dimensioning of the required battery system is performed. Finally, a comprehensive, electromechanical computer-aided design model is developed, with which the overall inertial properties of the vehicle are estimated. The position of its centre of gravity is studied, revealing the need for a forward trim mass. Compared to previous design studies, the estimated total mass is increased to 175.44 kg, while the design’s overall safety factor grows to 1.51.