Hirohito Ohtsuka

A NEW CHALLENGE IN ROBUST CONTROL OF THE ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET LAUNCHER

The development of the Epsilon launch vehicle, Japan’s next generation solid rocket launcher, has just moved on to the final stretch for its first launch scheduled in summer of 2013 carrying the planetary telescope satellite SPRINT-A. It should be emphasized that the JAXA appreciates the advantages of combined power of the standardized small satellites and the Epsilon’s highly efficient launch system to increase the level of space activities. The novel concept of the vehicle, aimed at achieving the next generation space transportation technologies, requires a simpler launch system and better user friendly interface than its predecessor, M-V in order to provide small satellites with more versatile launch. Such innovation significantly affects the architecture of the attitude control system of the vehicle, which should be more robust and reliable. This paper describes the design of the attitude control strategy of the Epsilon launcher.