Angle of Attack Operation Zone Analysis and Design for Lifting Entry

For lifting entry vehicle, angle of attack is one of the most important trajectory control inputs. This paper aims to develop a practical and effective method for angle of attack design. First, the factors which impact angle of attack are analyzed. The entry flight is discussed as equilibrium glide phase and initial diving phase respectively. And the operation zone of angle of attack is obtained based on constraints of heating rate, aerodynamic load, dynamic pressure and quasi-equilibrium glide condition. An application is given and simulation results show that the proposed angle of attack design method is convenience to obtain angle of attack profile while satisfying all the path constrains.