Search NASASearch

Engineering topics

Tempelman, W. H.

Publications and source records attributed to Tempelman, W. H..

Rendezvous targeting

Revisions to be included in 'Space Shuttle Guidance, Navigation and Control Design Equations' are reported. Technical changes include: (1) a plane change maneuver was incorporated in the program's logic; (2) in the search for an apsidal crossing, program checks were included to update through intervals of pi in the case of near circular orbits or close proximity to an apsidal point; (3) following an astronaut overwrite of a Lambert maneuver, the state vector was updated to establish a new target vector for use in the powered flight routine; and (4) following the computation of each maneuver, the position vector of the primary vehicle was offset - to help compensate for the effects of the finite maneuver - prior to the update of the state vector to the next maneuver point. Input and output variables, detailed flow diagrams a functional flow diagram, and a description of equations are presented.

Tempelman, W. H.

Deorbit targeting

The navigation and control of the space shuttle during atmospheric entry are discussed. A functional flow diagram presenting the basic approach to the deorbit targeting problem is presented. The major inputs to be considered are: (1) vehicle state vector, (2) landing site location, (3) entry interface parameters, (4) earliest desired time of landing, and (5) maximum cross range. Mathematical models of the navigational procedures based on controlled thrust times are developed.

Tempelman, W. H.

Rendezvous targeting for space missions

A brief outline of a targeting program for use in the space shuttle mission is presented. This general purpose program can accept a large variety of constraints and can be applied to each maneuver sequence contained in the rendezvous sequence. It consists of a main program which automatically and sequentially calls a general maneuver subroutine to compute each maneuver segment contained in the maneuver sequence.

Tempelman, W. H.

Equations of motion for the variable mass flow-variable exhaust velocity rocket

An equation of motion for a one dimensional rocket is derived as a function of the mass flow rate into the acceleration chamber and the velocity distribution along the chamber, thereby including the transient flow changes in the chamber. The derivation of the mass density requires the introduction of the special time coordinate. The equation of motion is derived from both classical force and momentum approaches and is shown to be consistent with the standard equation expressed in terms of flow parameters at the exit to the acceleration chamber.

Tempelman, W. H.