Integrated GPS/INS for the National Aerospace Plane

Daniel P. Johnson

Abstract:	The National Aerospace Plane (NASP) is expected to perform in a wide range of dynamic conditions, ranging from standard atmospheric cruise to hypersonic cruise to low-Earth orbit to re-entry and finally to landing. The wide variety of mission phases poses an interesting set of navigation requirements, which can be met by an integrated navigation system depending primarily on GPS and INS, along with a variety of backup navigation solutions depending on the nature of failures and the mission phase. This paper describes a baseline architecture for the NASP vehicle, including backup configurations, and presents a preliminary performance analysis of the design during the main mission phases, including hypersonic cruise, low-Earth orbit, and autonomous landing. This paper summarizes the results of several initial feasibility studies regarding the design of the navigation system for the NASP. We will be discussing several different areas: the Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) mission, Endo-atmospheric cruise, and Differential GPS for autolanding.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 3rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1990) September 19 - 21, 1990 The Broadmoor Hotel Colorado Spring, CO
Pages:	721 - 726
Cite this article:	Johnson, Daniel P., "Integrated GPS/INS for the National Aerospace Plane," Proceedings of the 3rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1990), Colorado Spring, CO, September 1990, pp. 721-726.
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