The Aerospace Corporation

Other

Andrew C Cortopassi

Eric Joseph Nemanick

Brian Blaise Brady

Jerome Keith Fuller

Robert B Pan

Jeffrey Arthur Lang

John D DeSain

Andrea G Hsu

John H Schilling

John Desain

Denise Galindo Burrell

Edward V Wagner

An ablative thruster includes a nozzle configured to control a flow of thrust from the satellite. The ablative thruster also includes an ablative surface inside of the nozzle, configured to deflect the thrust at a predefined angle. The ablative surface is configured to ablate-away, leaving un-deflected thrust for a majority of the burn.

Evanescent or fugacious thrust deflector

Solid rocket motors are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a solid rocket motor includes a housing containing thin layers of fuel and thin layers of an inert oxidizer, separated by a thin nonconductive layer. The housing has a nozzle at the end for gas release and channeling. Prior to use, the inert oxidizer is activated by electrochemical oxidation which can generate an active oxidizer and additional fuel. Ignition of the oxidizer and fuel can be triggered whereby the contents of the housing can ignite, generating hot gasses to be channeled out through the nozzle to generate thrust. Replacing current state solid rocket motors with embodiments described herein can improve cost, safety and increase capability. The disclosed embodiments can be safe to transport, store, and handle. Additionally, there can be no moving parts unlike hybrid or liquid rocket motors.

Electrochemical rocket motor

A de-orbiting system for a space vehicle may include one or more lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries configured to release hot gases to be used for thrusting during de-orbiting of the apparatus. The system may also include one or more heaters surrounding each of the one or more Li-ion batteries, which are configured to send each of the one or more Li-ion batteries into a thermal runaway. The thermal runaway causes the one or more Li-ion batteries to release stored electrochemical energy within each of the one or more Li-ion batteries.

Lithium ion battery de-orbiter

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Lakewood, CA, United States of America

Andrew C Cortopassi