Launch Vehicle Trajectory Diagnostic via Energy-Angular Momentum Plane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic methods for launch vehicles face challenges in comparing flight and pre-flight trajectories due to the lack of an independent parameter, leading to time-consuming and expensive assessments with ambiguous results, especially when flight trajectory times do not match pre-flight predictions and vehicle dispersions are involved.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method using the instantaneous energy-angular momentum plane to compare pre-flight and flight trajectories by computing energy values based on orbital angular momentum, allowing for direct comparison of trajectory parameters and identifying performance issues without relying on time or considering vehicle mass and staging events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional time-based comparison methods are used to analyze flight trajectory, then the assessment process becomes time-consuming and expensive, but the lack of an independent parameter makes trajectory comparison difficult or impossible when event times do not match
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the comparison parameter from time-based to energy-angular momentum-based. By using total energy per unit mass and orbital angular momentum per unit mass as independent parameters, the method enables direct comparison of flight and pre-flight trajectories without being constrained by time mismatches, thereby improving measurement precision while reducing analysis time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces energy-angular momentum plane as an intermediary framework for trajectory comparison. This intermediate representation allows trajectories to be compared in a standardized space where time is not the governing parameter, resolving the contradiction between accurate comparison and analysis efficiency
2Reliability
If multiple trajectory parameters are analyzed to identify performance issues, then comprehensive assessment is achieved, but the large number of parameters and their interdependencies make the analysis process complex and ambiguous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential trajectory characteristics by projecting them onto the energy-angular momentum plane. This extraction process isolates the most significant performance indicators from the full set of trajectory parameters, maintaining assessment reliability while reducing analytical complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from analyzing multiple independent trajectory parameters in traditional space to representing them in a transformed energy-angular momentum space. This dimensional transformation consolidates complex parameter relationships into a more manageable framework, reducing analysis complexity while preserving assessment reliability
Data Source
AI summary
Novel diagnostic methods for performance of a launch vehicle are disclosed. A method may include computing energy for a pre-flight trajectory of a vehicle using angular momentum of the vehicle, and comparing a difference in energy between the energy for the pre-flight trajectory of the vehicle and energy for a flight trajectory of the vehicle.