Sea landing of space launch vehicles and associated systems and methods
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United States of America Patent
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Mar 25, 2014
Grant Date -
Jan 27, 2011
app pub date -
Jun 14, 2010
filing date -
Jun 15, 2009
priority date (Note) -
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Abstract
Launch vehicle systems and methods for landing and recovering a booster stage and/or other portions thereof on a platform at sea or on another body of water are disclosed. In one embodiment, a reusable space launch vehicle is launched from a coastal launch site in a trajectory over water. After booster engine cutoff and upper stage separation, the booster stage reenters the earth's atmosphere in a tail-first orientation. The booster engines are then restarted and the booster stage performs a vertical powered landing on the deck of a pre-positioned sea-going platform. In one embodiment, bidirectional aerodynamic control surfaces control the trajectory of the booster stage as it glides through the earth's atmosphere toward the sea-going platform. The sea-going platform can broadcast its real-time position to the booster stage so that the booster stage can compensate for errors in the position of the sea-going platform due to current drift and/or other factors. After landing, the sea-going platform can be towed by, e.g., a tug, or it can use its own propulsion system, to transport the booster stage back to the coastal launch site or other site for reconditioning and reuse. In another embodiment, the booster stage can be transferred to another vessel for transport. In still further embodiments, the booster can be refurbished while in transit from a sea-based or other landing site.
First Claim
Family
- 15 United States
- 10 France
- 8 Japan
- 7 China
- 5 Korea
- 2 Other
Patent Owner(s)
- BLUE ORIGIN, LLC
International Classification(s)
Inventor(s)
Inventor Name | Address | # of filed Patents | Total Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Bezos, Jeffrey P | Greater Seattle, US | 163 | 15869 |
Findlay, Sean R | Seattle, US | 1 | 36 |
Lai, Gary | Seattle, US | 15 | 188 |
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Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable | $700.00 | $350.00 | $175.00 |
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