Rocket staging system

Abstract

An improved rocket staging system for missiles and the like wherein a carriage borne rocket engine assembly is sequentially employed within separate, generally aligned oxidizer stages which are generally coaxially disposed about the central rocket engine and its associated carriage. A central fuel tank is surrounded by several separate, cooperating, generally ring-shaped oxidizer tanks generally coaxially disposed about the rocket periphery. A plurality of oxidizer delivery lines run through each of the outer tanks and up to the top of the fuel tank, where a flexible hose brings oxidizer down to the engine carriage. As fuel is consumed, the rocket motor carriage slides upwardly inside the fuel tank in response to thrust. When the carriage is firmly seated inside the next higher oxidizer tank and all of the propellant has been removed from the lowest tank, the lowest tank is jettisoned to discard unnecessary mass. Thus when a stage is jettisoned, its oxidizer lines disconnect from those of the next higher stage and check valves in the lower endsd of the lines in the next stage prevent significant oxidizer spillage. Oxidizer intake ports such as solenoid valves mounted on the oxidizer delivery lines in each stage are kept open in the lowermost stage and closed in all other stages to allow oxidizer to be drawn only from the lowermost tank.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.