High-Performance Adaptive Pressure Control in the Presence of Time Delays: Pressure Control for Use in Variable-Thrust Rocket Development

Smart defense systems using missiles that can fine-tune their velocity profiles have significant technological superiority over their conventional counterparts. This tuning is possible, in part, due to the deployment of advanced sensing, actuation, and computation capabilities and sophisticated guidance, navigation, and control algorithms. The capability to alter velocity during operation helps sustain optimum performance for different flight conditions. In addition, it makes it possible to slow down while turning and then speed up along a straight path, rendering the maneuvers more efficient. This ability to modify velocity (known as throttleability) is also known to increase a missile's no-escape zone, which is the maximum range that the missile can outrun its target [1]. As presented in »Summary,» this article discusses the advanced control technologies needed to obtain throttleability.