Launch pad abort of the HL-20 lifting body

The capability of the HL-20 lifting-body spacecraft to perform an abort maneuver from the launch pad to a horizontal landing was studied. This study involved both piloted and batch simulation models of the vehicle. A point-mass model of the vehicle was used for trajectory optimization studies. The piloted simulation was performed in a fixed-base simulator. A candidate maneuver was developed and refined for the worst-case launch-pad-tolanding-site geometry using an iterative procedure of off-line maneuver analysis followed by piloted evaluations and heuristic improvements to the candidate maneuver. The resulting maneuver demonstrates the launch site abort capability of the HL-20 and dictates requirements for nominal abort motor performance. The sensitivity of the maneuver to variations in several design parameters was documented.