Ascent and Descent Guidance of Multistage Rockets via Pseudospectral Methods

Abstract

This paper illustrates the trajectory modeling of multistage rockets for both ascent anddescent phases. The computation of solutions is performed by coupling a multiphase optimal-control problem formulation with a transcription performed via Radau pseudospectral meth-ods. Four examples inspired by both historical rockets like the Saturn V, and modern reusablelaunch systems like the Falcon 9 demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed modeling approachfor the rapid prototyping of valid reference solutions