Midair deployment of aerostats
AssigneeLtag Systems LLC
InventorsJonathan T. Slocum, Alexander H. Slocum
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to one aspect, a system for midair deployment of an aerostat may include an inflatable structure including a balloon at least partially defining a volume, a reaction vessel defining a chamber in fluid communication with the volume, a fuel package disposed in the chamber, the fuel package including a container and water-reactive aluminum, the container fluidically isolating the water-reactive aluminum from an environment of the chamber, and an actuator actuatable to release the water-reactive aluminum from the container into the environment of the chamber.
Claims16
A system for midair deployment of an aerostat, the system comprising:
- an inflatable structure including a balloon and a valve, the balloon at least partially defining a volume, and the valve movable from an open position to a closed position;
- a reaction vessel defining a chamber in fluid communication with the volume, the chamber at least partially fillable with a reactant;
- a fuel package disposed adjacent the chamber, the fuel package including a container and water-reactive aluminum, the container fluidically isolating the water-reactive aluminum from the chamber;
- and
- an actuator actuatable in midair, away from an aircraft launching the system, to release the water-reactive aluminum from the container into the chamber such that the water-reactive aluminum is reactive with the reactant in the chamber to generate a hydrogen-containing lifting gas directable into the volume via the valve in the open position.
A method of deploying an aerostat in midair, the method comprising:
- launching, from an aircraft in flight, an inflatable structure coupled to a reaction vessel;
- in a chamber defined by the reaction vessel, releasing fluidic isolation between water-reactive aluminum and water in the chamber to generate a hydrogen-containing lifting gas;
- directing the hydrogen-containing lifting gas from the chamber into a volume at least partially defined by a balloon of the inflatable structure;
- and
- with the hydrogen-containing lifting gas at least partially filling the volume of the balloon to provide buoyancy, detaching the inflatable structure from the reaction vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.