Aerospace Trajectory Optimization Using Direct Transciption and Collocation

Demonstrates the solution of an aerospace trajectory optimization problem.

Description

In the language of optimal control theory, this problem is a “continuous system with functions of the state variables prescribed at a fixed terminal time”. The numerical example given in the text is a continuous, low-thrust coplanar orbit transfer from Earth to Mars. The orbits of the planets are assumed to be circular and coplanar, and the total transfer time is about 193 days.

• MATLAB release: MATLAB 7.12 (R2011a)
• Other requirements: This MATLAB script uses the SNOPT nonlinear programming algorithm to solve this trajectory optimization problem. MATLAB versions of SNOPT can be found at Professor Philip Gill’s web site which is located at http://scicomp.ucsd.edu/~peg/.