Architectures of Hybrid Navigation Systems (HNS) for Reusable Space Transportation Systems

Kurzfassung

This paper outlines the development of two Hybrid Navigation Systems (HNS) for recent Vertical Takeoff, Horizontal Landing (VTHL) and Vertical Takeoff, Vertical Landing (VTVL) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) missions and describes the challenges faced for the development of navigation systems for such applications. It provides an overview of the principal HNS architecture, which is commonly developed for both missions, and presents the selected sensor suites with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Sun sensors, laser and radar altimeters, and Flush Airdata Sensing (FADS) systems as non-inertial sensors including the required ground-based means and infrastructure. It concludes with a preliminary assessment of the achievable navigation performance for each of these missions.