A Modeling Approach for the Balanced Gliding Trajectory of a Hypersonic Vehicle with Pneumatic Iteration

This work presents a method for simulating balanced gliding trajectories of high-hypersonic flight vehicles, circumventing the challenges associated with trajectory modeling for these advanced vehicles. A typical hypersonic vehicle is used as a case study to create an external shape prototype. Aerodynamic simulations are performed using atmospheric data corresponding to various altitudes throughout the hypersonic flight. This process generates aerodynamic characteristic models for the vehicle across various Mach numbers and altitude conditions. Subsequently, ballistic modeling is conducted using the simulated aerodynamic data. The ballistic curve is refined iteratively during critical flight stages, taking into account the missile’s terminal guidance towards the target. As a result, the ballistic modeling curve is made relatively precise. Simulation results demonstrate that, compared to conventional equation-based ballistic curve modeling, the proposed iteration method yields ballistic curves that more accurately reflect actual flight conditions. This enhances flight state parameters and facilitates missile simulation for targeting moving objects. Notably, the terminal guidance accuracy error decreases from 0.12° to 0.03°, establishing a robust foundation for accurate ballistic modeling of hypersonic vehicles.