Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control design for reusable launch vehicles

This paper presents a Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control method for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) in re-entry stage. RLV is a good measure to reduce transportation costs and improve launch vehicle performance effectively. The major contributions of this paper are as follows. Firstly, the non-linear mathematical model of reusable launch vehicle is introduced. And its characteristics are analyzed. Then, an attitude controller is designed by a combination of sliding mode control technology with fuzzy control technology. Finally, the simulations were performed based on the presented mathematical model and the designed controller.