Space Rider is the European program proposed to develop an affordable and sustainable reusable space transportation system to enable access to and return from space. To procure a safe and accurate landing, Space Rider will use a large deployable parafoil to fly autonomously upon the landing site. The landing guidance algorithm is based on two preselected waypoints and enables the system to reach the target landing site with high accuracy and being adaptive to wind knowledge errors, turbulence, and uncertainties on the main characteristics of the system, such as aerodynamics, sensors, and actuator parameters. The core of the landing guidance strategy is the so-called quasi-optimal time algorithm, responsible for the terminal guidance and energy management exiting. This algorithm minimizes the difference between the time to go and the estimated duration of the terminal maneuvers to guarantee an accurate landing also in the presence of strong winds. This paper presents the guidance strategy and demonstrates the feasibility of the design by Monte Carlo analysis of the Space Rider landing using a six-degree-of-freedom parafoil–payload model. The design presented in this work successfully passed the Critical Design Review of the Space Rider guidance, navigation, and control subsystem in December 2019.

太空骑士是欧洲计划中提出的一项计划，目的是开发一种负担得起且可持续的可重复使用的太空运输系统，以使人们能够进出太空并从太空返回。为了确保安全准确地着陆，Space Rider将使用大型可展开翼型自动在着陆点上飞行。着陆引导算法基于两个预先选择的航路点，使系统能够以较高的精度到达目标着陆点，并且能够适应风力知识错误，湍流以及系统主要特征（例如空气动力学，传感器和风向）的不确定性。执行器参数。着陆制导策略的核心是所谓的准最佳时间算法，负责终端制导和能量管理的退出。该算法最大程度地减少了行进时间与预计的最终演习时间之间的差异，以确保即使在强风条件下也能准确降落。本文提出了制导策略，并通过蒙特卡洛分析法使用六自由度翼型有效载荷模型对太空骑手着陆进行了设计，论证了该设计的可行性。这项工作中提出的设计于2019年12月成功通过了《太空骑士》指南，导航和控制子系统的关键设计审查。