The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 20, 1990
Filed:
Mar. 11, 1988
Antonio L Elias, Fairfax, VA (US);
Orbital Sciences Corporation II, Fairfax, VA (US);
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.