Automatic Control of Launch Vehicles' Flight Path Slope Angle by Means of the Backstepping Control Method

This paper deals with the design and the software validation of an automatic control architecture for the control of the launch vehicles' flight path slope angle in the second flight phase (after launch) by using the backstepping control approach. Starting from the nonlinear dynamics associated to the motion of the launch vehicles, the backstepping control technique and the Lyapunov theory are combined in order to obtain the general control law and the rotation angle of the rocket's reaction nozzle. The novel control scheme is software implemented in Matlab, the global stability and the effectiveness of this control architecture being proved both theoretically and by numerical simulations for the motion in vertical plane of the launch vehicle.