A convex optimization-based approach for time-constrained hypersonic gliding

This paper studies the problem of constraining the flight time in the gliding phase of a hypersonic glide vehicle. An optimal control problem is formulated to include this flight-time constraint and other common constraints such as those on the heating rate and dynamic pressure. The optimization objective is designed to try to achieve hypersonic gliding with a constant rate of descent. The corresponding optimal control problem is highly constrained and nonconvex. We propose a convex optimization-based approach to reliably and efficiently solve this problem. Numerical demonstrations will show that the proposed method is very effective in generating smooth three-dimensional gliding trajectories with the specified flight time.