Desensitized Aerocapture Terminal Guidance

In traditional aerocapture terminal guidance, feedback gains are computed with respect to a nominal optimal trajectory determined a priori. In contrast, desensitized aerocapture terminal guidance simultaneously optimizes both the reference trajectory and feedback gains by minimizing sensitivity terms that depend on the feedback gains themselves. Previous studies have demonstrated that aerocapture performance exhibits significant sensitivity to uncertainties in atmospheric density and initial state conditions, particularly initial velocity and flight-path angle. This study develops a desensitized aerocapture terminal guidance approach designed to enhance robustness against dynamic perturbations. The performance and robustness of the desensitized aerocapture terminal guidance is evaluated through Monte Carlo analysis conducted within the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories-II (POST2).