Ricerc@Sapienza

Multistage launch vehicles of reduced size, such as "Super Strypi" or "Sword", are currently investigated for the purpose of providing launch opportunities for microsatellites. This work proposes a general methodology for the accurate modeling and performance evaluation of launch vehicles dedicated to microsatellites. For illustrative purposes, the approach at hand is applied to the Scout rocket, a micro-launcher used in the past. Aerodynamics and propulsion are modeled with high fidelity through interpolation of available data. Unlike the original Scout, the terminal optimal ascent path is determined for the upper stage, using a firework algorithm in conjunction with the Euler-Lagrange equations and the Pontryagin minimum principle. Firework algorithms represent a recently-introduced heuristic technique, not requiring any starting guess and inspired by the firework explosions in the night sky. The numerically results prove that this methodology is easy-to-implement, robust, precise and computationally effective, although it uses an accurate aerodynamic and propulsive model.