Trajectories of Descent

Study of Some Planetary Atmospheres Features by Probe Entry and Descent Simulations

Characterization of planetary atmospheres is analyzed by its effects in the entry and descent trajectories of probes. Emphasis is on the most important variables that characterize atmospheres e.g. density profile with altitude. Probe trajectories are numerically determined with ENTRAP, a developing multi-purpose computational tool for entry and descent trajectory simulations capable of taking i...

Orbits of Geometric Descent

We prove that quasiconvex functions always admit descent trajectories bypassing all non-minimizing critical points.

Steepest descent method on a Riemannian manifold: the convex case

In this paper we are interested in the asymptotic behavior of the trajectories of the famous steepest descent evolution equation on Riemannian manifolds. It writes ẋ (t) + gradφ (x (t)) = 0. It is shown how the convexity of the objective function φ helps in establishing the convergence as time goes to infinity of the trajectories towards points that minimize φ. Some numerical illustrations are ...

Reconstruction and Uncertainty Quantification of Entry, Descent and Landing Trajectories Using Vehicle Aerodynamics

Universal Approximnation and Learning of Trajectories Using Oscillators

Natural and artificial neural circuits must be capable of traversing specific state space trajectories. A natural approach to this problem is to learn the relevant trajectories from examples. Unfortunately, gradient descent learning of complex trajectories in amorphous networks is unsuccessful. We suggest a possible approach where trajectories are realized by combining simple oscillators, in va...

Benefits of Continuous Descent Operations in High-Density Terminal Airspace Under Scheduling Constraints

This study estimates the potential benefits of continuous descents for more than 480,000 flights to 25 major airports in the National Airspace System. While reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are expected for these procedures, the benefits during periods of congestion are not well understood. To address this gap, baseline trajectories were constructed from flight plan and tra...