Flight-Corridor Analysis for Hypersonic Glide Vehicles

Hypersonic glide vehicles will be limited by many constraints during their flight course. The flight corridor is defined as the intersection of these constraints and plays an important role in trajectory planning and optimization. Mathematical models of the flight corridor are established in a drag acceleration-velocity (D-V) profile and a height-velocity (H-V) profile. Further analysis of the flight corridor of hypersonic glide vehicles is carried out from the perspectives of influence factors and uncertainties. A credible and simple existence criterion is proposed to avoid iteration. This paper is aimed at improving the understanding of flight corridors of hypersonic glide vehicles and providing valuable information for missions, such as trajectory planning and optimization. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.