Moving-mass-center control of missile

Moving-mass-center control for reentry vehicles was proposed to overcome rudder surface ablation and decreased control efficiency with traditional pneumatic control for missiles flying at high speeds. Complete nonlinear dynamic equations for missile controlled by moving mass center were established. There are two important factors that can cause the changes of the airframe attitude due to the movement of the mass center. The simulation results show that when the roll rate of the airframe is below the critical roll rate, the aerodynamic force is a dominant factor; when the roll rate is above the critical roll rate, the inertia force is a dominant factor.