Gravity turn

Karthik Kumar
10BAE20

 Agravity turnorzero-lift turnis a

manoeuvre used in launching a
spacecraft into the desired orbit by
decelerating or accelerating it.
Anorbitaround a celestial body such
as aplanetor amoon is changed by
the influence of gravity and gravity
alone.
Agravity turnis a technique to
reach orbit with minimal fuel

 It is atrajectory optimization that

usesgravityto steer the vehicle onto
its desired trajectory.
Gravity turns work by using gravity as
an acceleration assist.
If a craft were to be launched purely
vertical, it would fight gravity through
its entire burn, which greatly
decreases the netvelocity.

 The term gravity turn can also refer to the use of

a planet's gravity to change a spacecraft's
direction in other situations than entering or
leaving the orbit.
When used in this context it is similar to
agravitational slingshot.
The difference is that a gravitational slingshot often
increases or decreases spacecraft velocity and
changes direction while the gravity turn only changes
direction.

 It offers two main advantages over a trajectory

controlled solely through vehicle's ownthrust.
we dont use the thrust to steer the vehicle,
therefore more thrust is available to accelerate.
During ascent, the vehicle can maintain a low angle
of attack (or zero). This minimizes the stress put on
the vehicle from aerodynamic forces, allowing for a
less robust, therefore lighter vehicle.

 To reduce the steering losses, in most cases it is

desirable to align axis of the rocket with the velocity
vector. This is particularly important during the first
phase of launch.
At the same time, the initial trajectory of vertical ascent
should be transformed into nearly horizontal path in
order to reduce the gravity losses
So the launch trajectory includes a transition segment
where the flight path angle changes from vertical to
nearly horizontal.
Since the thrust vector remains close to the velocity
vector this turn is actually realized by gravity. No thrust
is applied to bend the trajectory.

Vertical climb
During launch, the vehicle goes straight up, gaining vertical
speed and altitude. Gravity, at this point, is acting directly
against the thrust of the vehicle, lowering its vertical
acceleration. The losses that occur during this phase of the
flight are known asgravity drag.
This can be minimized by executing the next phase of the
launch, the pitch-over maneuver, as soon as possible.
The earlier this pitch over happens, the better. If the vertical
velocity of the vehicle is high when the pitch over maneuver
is executed, the aerodynamic loads on the vehicle can be
very high.
So pitch-over should be carried out while the vertical velocity
is small to avoid large aerodynamic loads on the vehicle
during the maneuver

 The pitch-over maneuver consists of the rocket gimbaling its

engine slightly to direct some of its thrust to one side. This
force creates a net torque on the ship, turning it so that it no
longer points vertically
An important part of an ideal gravity turn is that the
gimbaling of the engines is only used during the initial
pitching over maneuver. From that point forward the
vehicles engines should always be pointing straight down
the axis of the rocket.
The pitch-over angle varies with the launch vehicle and is
included in the rocket's initial guidance system
After the pitchover is complete, the engines are reset to
point forward the vehicles engines should always be
pointing straight down the axis of the rocket.

 Gravity will slowly turn the rocket further and

further towards the horizon as the rocket
accelerates.
By no longer actively turning the rocket in one
direction or another, we minimize the aerodynamic
stress that the rocket incurs as a result of such
maneuvers.
The intent of a gravity turn is to, by the time the
rocket levels off (is flying parallel to the ground),
have gained sufficient altitude and velocity to be in
a stable orbit.

 With vehicles that are launching from a planet

with a dense atmosphere, the smaller the
angle of the initial pitch over, the better,
since our main goal in this scenario is to get
out of the thicker part of the atmosphere
more quickly.
The faster we get out of the thicker part of
the atmosphere, the more we reduce the
aerodynamic drag and aerodynamic stress
that the vehicle will suffer during launch.

 Maximum dynamic pressure, sometimes referred

to as max Q, is due to the build up of dynamic
pressure due to the acceleration against the
thicker part of the atmosphere.
Again, similar to the turn early or turn late for the
gravity turn, it is a trade-off between gaining
more speed while in the lower part of the
atmosphere and making the vehicle heavier,
since it needs to withstand greater pressure, or a
lighter vehicle and gaining less speed while in the
lower atmosphere.

Mathematical approach

Reference
Rocket and spacecraft propulsion by
Martin J.L. Turner.
wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/gravity
turn
wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/orbital
maneuver.