Navigation error analysis for the rocketplane XP

bd Systems has supported the navigation architecture development of the Rocketplane XP as part of its responsibility as the vehicle guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) subsystem lead contractor. The Rocketplane XP is a reusable sub-orbital space-plane being designed by Rocketplane Limited, Inc. for the commercial space tourism market. The horizontal take-off/horizontal landing vehicle, which will be one of the world´s first true manned aerospace vehicles, has a short development schedule and began operation in 2007. bd Systems performed a detailed trade study to select the navigation subsystem and developed high-fidelity error models for use in the overall vehicle six-degree-offreedom (6DOF) simulation in order to determine the effects of navigation errors on vehicle performance.