Rocket-powered, air-deployed, lift-assisted booster vehicle for orbital, supraorbital and suborbital flight
US4901949A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 11, 1988 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 11, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB64G1/008
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A rocket-powered, air-deployed, lift-assisted booster vehicle (ALBV) is disclosed for efficiently carrying small payloads to orbital, supraorbital or suborbital altitudes and velocities. The ALBV is secured beneath a conventional carrier aircraft and dropped therefrom at launch altitude and velocity, which contributes significant total energy to the ALBV's ascent trajectory. The ALBV has wings, which generate aerodynamic lift to assist in vehicle ascent, and tail fins, which perform attitude control while the vehicle is in the sensible atmosphere. After drop launch, an innovative "vertical-S" maneuver is performed using aerodynamic control, causing the ALBV to ascend on a near-theoretical optimal trajectory. In the preferred embodiment, the wings and tail fins are jettisoned as the vehicle exits the sensible atmosphere and aerodynamic lift ceases. This invention represents a dramatic improvement over prior art approaches to orbital payload launch, as it approximately doubles the useful payload that can be carried by the booster compared to identical ground-launched vehicles.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.