Hughes Electronics Corporation

The Boeing Company

Other

Kurt B Kreiner

David Bronson

John F Stickelmaier

Joel M Neiderman

Carl R Stechman

Julie Marie Perkins

Philip D Nguyen

John Robert Beattie

Peter E Woll

Glenn N Caplin

Alois Wittmann

John Ziavras

Brian K Smith

Peter S Lauenstein

Peter W Woll

Lewis S Pilcher

Julie M Perkins

Peter Woll

Carl R Stechmann

Described herein is a thrust system for a vehicle that includes at least three electrical power controllers, at least four electrical switches each configured to receive electrical power from at least one of the at least three electrical power controllers, and at least three thrusters each configured to receive electrical power from at least one of the at least three electrical switches. The at least four electrical switches are operable to switch a supply of electrical power from any of the at least three electrical power controllers to any one of the at least three thrusters.

Thrust apparatuses, systems, and methods

A gridded ion propulsion system comprising two power controllers, four ion thrusters, and two switch assemblies. One switch assembly is connected to the two power controllers and to two of the four ion thrusters. The other switch assembly is connected to the two power controllers and to the other two ion thrusters. Each switch assembly has first and second switching states which can be selected to enable either power controller to supply power to any one of the four ion thrusters. Each switch assembly comprises a respective movable body and a respective multiplicity of switches which change state in unison when the movable body changes position. For example, the movable body may be a rotatable hollow shaft driven by a stepper motor.

Rotary switch assembly for ion propulsion system

An electric thruster has at least a portion of a surface of at least one of the component elements of its housing surface treated to increase the thermal transmission at the surface. The surface treatment is selected to increase the thermal absorption and thence the absorption of heat at the interiorly facing surfaces of the treated component, and/or to increase the thermal emissivity and thence radiation heat loss at the exteriorly facing surfaces of the treated component, and/or to increase the effective surface area through which heat is absorbed or emitted. The surface-treated housing components are assembled together with a cathode assembly, an ionization chamber, a propellant gas source, and a magnetic structure to form an electric thruster.

Electric thruster made with surface treatments for improved thermal management

A rocket engine has a combustion chamber, an injector, and an attachment between the combustion chamber and the injector. The attachment includes an annular metallic deposit joined to the chamber wall outer surface, and an annular transition ring structure. The transition ring structure has an annular step collar, and an annular adaptor ring brazed to the annular step collar. The adaptor ring is welded on one end to the injector and on the other end to the metallic deposit.

Rocket engine having a transition attachment between a combustion chamber and an injector

A rocket engine includes a generally cylindrical annular combustion chamber, an injector attached to an injector end of the combustion chamber, a generally cylindrical annular step collar fitting within the combustion chamber at the injector end thereof, and an attachment of the combustion chamber, the injector, and the step collar. The maximum outer diameter of the step collar is from about 0.020 inches to about 0.024 inches smaller than the inner diameter of the combustion chamber, and has a length of from about 21 to about 31 percent of the length of the combustion chamber. The step collar is made of a material having a melting point greater than that of the combustion chamber. The attachment preferably includes a clip structure joining the combustion chamber and the step collar. The clip structure includes a C-shaped annular clip having a first leg extending parallel to the chamber length and with an inner diameter of about that of the outer diameter of the combustion chamber and affixed thereto, a second leg extending parallel to the chamber length and with an outer diameter of no greater than that of the outer diameter of the step collar and affixed thereto, and a web extending between the first leg and the second leg.

Rocket engine with internal chamber step structure

A rocket engine is fabricated by a multistep brazing and welding technique. An annular step collar is fns brazed to a trnnsition joint. This first subassembly is second brazed to the combustion chamber. This second subassembly is third brezed to an annular adaptor to form a third subassembly. The succeeding brazing steps are performed at successively lower temperatures. The third subassembly is welded to an injector.

Fabrication of a rocket engine with a transition structure between the combustion chamber and the injector

An ion thruster has a source of a plasma, and an ion-optics system located in sufficient proximity to the source of the plasma to extract ions therefrom. The ion-optics system includes at least two grids arranged in a facing-but-spaced-apart relationship to each other, with each grid being axisymmetric about a grid axis. Each grid includes a peripheral region defining a grid plane perpendicular to the grid axis, a first region of curvature adjacent to the peripheral region, and a second region of curvature along the grid axis such that the first region of curvature lies between the second region of curvature and the peripheral region. The first region of curvature is a convexly curved segment of a first sphere relative to the grid plane, and the second region of curvature is a concavely curved segment of a second sphere relative to the grid plane.

Ion thruster with ion-extraction grids having compound contour shapes

A rocket engine has a combustion chamber formed of an annular wall made of an annular wall material, and an annular insert made of an annular insert material that is of substantially the same thermal expansion coefficient as the annular wall material. The annular insert has an insert outer surface sized to fit within and contact the wall inner surface along less than the wall length. The annular wall and the annular insert are welded together. There is further an attachment between the combustion chamber and an injector. The attachment includes an annular metallic deposit bonded to the combustion chamber, an annular adaptor ring, a weld joint between the adaptor ring and the metallic deposit, and a joint between the adaptor ring and the injector.

Rocket engine with combustion chamber step structure insert, and its

A rocket engine is prepared by fabricating a combustion chamber having an annular wall as a single piece of material. The wall has a first axial region with a first inner diameter, a second axial region with a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter, and an inner wall step transition between the first axial region and the second axial region. The combustion chamber is attached to an injector by bonding an annular metallic deposit to the first axial region of the combustion chamber, providing an annular adaptor ring, first welding the adaptor ring to the metallic deposit, and second welding the adaptor ring to the injector.

Rocket engine with integral combustion chamber step structure and its

A rocket engine is prepared by fabricating a combustion chamber having an annular wall as a single piece of material. The wall has a first axial region with a first inner diameter, a second axial region with a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter, and an inner wall step transition between the first axial region and the second axial region. The wall is formed by furnishing an oversize blank of the wall material and electrical discharge machining or grinding it to the final size. The combustion chamber is attached to an injector by bonding an annular metallic deposit to the first axial region of the combustion chamber, providing an annular adaptor ring, first welding the adaptor ring to the metallic deposit, and second welding the adaptor ring to the injector.

Growing community of inventors

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, United States of America

Kurt B Kreiner