<h2>AAS 97-131</h2>
<h2>AN OVERALL TRAJECTORY AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR A LONG- RANGE HYPERSONIC TRANSPORT USING EXO-ATMOSPHERIC COAST                                </h2>
<h4> D. G. Tuckness, Jr. and T. McGaha, The University of Texas at Arlington                                                                                                  </h4>
<h2> Abstract </h2>
 This paper examines the use of an exo-atmospheric coast trajectory for a long-range  hypersonic transport.  It addresses both the minimum energy ballistic trajectory,  as well as a fractional orbit trajectory for the coast phase.  A method of finding  the pull-up Mach number that minimizes the takeoff gross weight will be presented.   This paper also addresses the matching conditions at the entry and exit of the  coasting phase, integrating this into the overall trajectory.  Finally, a  performance comparison between the ballistic coast, fractional orbit coast, and  conventional high-atmosphere cruise trajectories will be considered.