Thrust vectoring is a method of directional control for vehicles that use powered thrust, such as aircraft, spacecraft, and underwater vehicles. It can aid in fast turns and is used in advanced aircraft and rocket systems. Different approaches are taken to achieve thrust vector control, including linking the movement of the exhaust nozzle to the pilot’s controls and moving the entire engine assembly inside the body of the vehicle.
Thrust vectoring is a form of attitude or directional control that can be designed into any vehicle capable of moving in three dimensions via powered thrust, such as an aircraft, spacecraft, or submerged underwater vehicle. The tendency of a rocket- or jet-engine-powered vehicle is to move in the exact opposite direction to that of the exhaust coming out of its rearward-facing thrust nozzle. When this thrust is channeled to exit the vehicle at an angle different from the vehicle’s angle in reference to the horizon or its intended direction of travel, it can aid in fast turns rather than simply relying on aerodynamic control surfaces or rocket-breaking in spacecraft to do it
Several advanced aircraft are currently using thrust vectors as of 2011, including the Russian Sukhoi SU-30 MKI which has also been sold to India, the F-22 Raptor fighter fielded by the US Air Force and the EF or Eurofighter 2000 built for military service in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. The AV-8B Harrier II aircraft is also an example of a thrust vectoring aircraft that was originally developed in the United Kingdom and has been in service since 1981 by various North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) participating countries, including Spain, Italy and the US. The United States and Israel also worked on a program for the F-16 fighter jet known as Multi-Axis Thrust Vectoring (MATV) in the early 1990s.
Thrust vectoring has also been used in various rocket and spacecraft systems, with notable recent examples in the 21st century being the Japanese Mu rocket and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology lunar mission. ) (SMART-1) in 2005. Previous systems that have used thrust vectoring include the US Space Shuttle, as well as the US Saturn V moon rockets. Several nuclear missile systems are also known to Strategic missiles in the US employ the technology, including the land-based Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) deployed on nuclear submarines.
Several different approaches have been taken to achieve thrust vector control. With airplanes, a typical approach is to link the movement of the exhaust nozzle to the pilot’s controls so that not only the plane’s surfaces like the rudder and ailerons respond to your vector changes, but the exhaust nozzle itself. move along with them. On the US F-22, the exhaust nozzle is free to move within a 20 degree range, giving the aircraft a higher roll rate of 50%. Roll rate is the aircraft’s ability to deviate in pitch – up and down – or yaw – left and right – from its central axis of motion while in flight. The Russian SU-30 MKI has an exhaust nozzle that can rotate 32 degrees in the horizontal plane and 15 degrees in the vertical, allowing the aircraft to perform high-speed bank maneuvers in 3-4 seconds at air speeds of about from 217 to 249 miles per hour (350 to 400 kilometers per hour).
In spacecraft or rockets, thrust vectoring can involve moving the entire engine assembly inside the body of the vehicle, known as gimballing, which was done on the US Saturn V rocket, or key exhaust system components they can move together. Solid propellant rocket motors like the Japanese Mu space launch vehicle cannot alter the direction of thrust fuel, so instead they inject a coolant liquid along one side of the exhaust nozzle that forces gases hot exhaust pipes out the opposite side to provide a vectoring effect. . This is also done on the US-deployed solid-fueled Minuteman II missile, where its liquid-fueled Trident SLBMS uses a hydraulic system to move the nozzle.
In spacecraft intended to leave Earth’s gravity well, the main thrust engine is often separate from attitude control rockets or thrust vectoring systems, and each system may use different types of propulsion methods. and fuels. Attempts have been made on space missions in the early 21st century to unite these two propulsion systems into one commonly powered one. On the ESA SMART-1 mission, this was known as an all-electric design for joint operation, called the attitude and orbit control system (AOCS). The European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) planned for launch between 2014 and 2015 also uses thrust vectoring as part of a sophisticated ion propulsion system.
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