Model Based Desgin Environment for Launcher Upper Stage GNC Development

TL;DR

This paper presents an integrated model-based design environment to streamline the development of guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for launcher upper stages, reducing costs and increasing adaptability.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive MBD framework that tightly integrates modelling, design, and analysis for GNC development in launcher upper stages.

Findings

Reduced development time through integrated design process

Enhanced adaptability to changing requirements

Improved testing and validation capabilities

Abstract

The cost associated with developing flight control forms a significant part of the overall development cost. The increased demand for greater functionality and for extending the domain of applicability of future launchers leads to higher complexity of the GNC algorithms. Furthermore, there is also a need for a responsive design methodology, which can quickly adapt to changes in the requirements during the development process. These demands are stretching the current,largely manual, development process, which is fragmented in the different disciplines and activities concerning modelling, algorithm design, software coding, implementation on the avionics platform and the associated testing at the different stages. The model-based-design (MBD) philosophy presents an attractive solution in addressing the multi-disciplinary nature of the flight algorithm design task. In terms of design process, this materializes in a tight coupling between the modelling, the design and the analysis activities.An integrated design framework for the GNC development for future launcher upper stages has been realized.