The Boeing Company

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

James M Ball

Aaron Jonathan Kutzmann

David A Deamer

Issac Richman

A multiple stage orbital delivery vehicle that uses tractor propulsion to launch the vehicle into space. Only the upper stage of the vehicle includes an engine and avionics allowing the lower stages to be only liquid propellant tanks that may be dumped when empty. The liquid propellant may be either monopropellant or bi-propellant. The upper stage may include multiple nozzles that burn the propellant. Alternatively, the upper stage may include an aerospike engine instead of nozzles. The multiple stage orbital delivery vehicle may be air launched from an airborne aircraft or may be launched from the ground.

Multiple stage tractor propulsion vehicle

An active boresight drift measurement and calibration apparatus utilizing a predetermined number of interferometer units to measure the distances between themselves, the target tracking unit and the beam direction sensing unit. The interferometer units provide the initial alignment reference and by periodic repeat measurements provides distance change data to establish boresight alignment drift correction angles.

Growing community of inventors

Huntington Beach, CA, United States of America

James M Ball