Ascent and descent guidance of multistage rockets via pseudospectral methods

This paper illustrates the trajectory modeling of multistage rockets for both ascent and descent phases. The computation of solutions is performed by coupling a multiphase optimal-control problem formulation with a transcription performed via Radau pseudospectral methods. Four examples inspired by both historical rockets like the Saturn V, and modern reusable launch systems like the Falcon 9 demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed modeling approach for the rapid prototyping of valid reference solutions.