Suggested Citation:
D'Souza, Sarah and Nesrin Sarigul-Klijn (2008) An Analytical Approach to Skip Earth Entry Guidance of a Low L/D Vehicle. Proceedings of the 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit

This paper reviews the state of the art in analytical guidance algorithms and next proposes an algorithm that is suitable for guidance of low L/D human vehicles including vehicles that return to Earth from lunar missions. Algorithms compared are Apollo 2nd entry, Shuttle Entry, Hypas-Aerocapture, and Energy Controller. A parametric study is also included of the analytical guidance algorithm proposed in this paper for low L/D vehicles.