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US 5,395,072 AGranted
Propellant tank conformal lifting body spacecraft
OwnerRobert L. Nelsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lifting body concept applicable to reusable space launch vehicles in which the propellant tankage is shaped in the form of a closed "vee" made up of intersecting cylindrical segments, and represents a major part of both the structural and aerodynamic configurations. The lifting body is made up of conical, wedge and swept cylinder elements. Absence of wings and large vertical stabilizing surfaces together with a configuration made up of joined straight line element surfaces makes for a low-cost, efficient, lightweight airframe/propellant tank configuration. The windward afterbody composed of flat and fixed radius cylindrical surfaces makes possible a small number of ceramic and/or metallic heat shield tiles and contributes to their easy installation and replacement.
Claims19
A spacecraft including:
- a spacecraft body centerline;
- a forebody conical portion;
- said forebody conical portion including a forebody conical centerline;
- an afterbody portion;
- said forebody portion being conically shaped and having radii which vary linearly with length;
- said afterbody portion having side surfaces, an upper planar surface and a lower planar surface;
- said afterbody side surfaces being a continuation of said forebody conical portion;
- said afterbody upper and lower planar surfaces being in parallel planes;
- a vertical tail section, said vertical tail section being positioned aft of the center of gravity of said spacecraft, said vertical tail section being defined by said conical side surfaces in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft;
- said vertical tail section extending above said planar upper surface of the afterbody;
- and wherein said forebody conical portion of said spacecraft is tilted with respect to said afterbody portion, such that the centerline of said spacecraft is below said conical forebody centerline, in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft.
8 more elements
A spacecraft including:
- a spacecraft body centerline;
- a forebody conical portion;
- said forebody conical portion including a forebody conical centerline;
- an afterbody portion;
- said forebody portion being conically shaped and having radii which vary linearly with length;
- said afterbody portion having side surfaces, an upper planar surface and a lower planar surface;
- said afterbody side surfaces being a continuation of said forebody conical portion;
- said afterbody upper and lower planar surfaces being in parallel planes;
- a vertical tail section, said vertical tail section being positioned aft of the center of gravity of said spacecraft, said vertical tail section being defined by said conical side surfaces in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft;
- said vertical tail section extending above said planar upper surface of the afterbody;
- and wherein said afterbody lower surface lies in a horizontal plane parallel to said lifting body shape centerline and tangent to a forebody lower surface cross section;
- said lower surface creating a positive pitching moment which is generated by a cutout of the lower planar surface, said cutout originating forward of the spacecraft aft end and continuing to the aft end of the spacecraft;
- and wherein said forebody conical portion of said spacecraft is tilted with respect to said afterbody portion, such that the centerline of said spacecraft is below said conical forebody centerline, in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft.
10 more elements
A spacecraft including:
- a spacecraft body centerline;
- a forebody conical portion;
- said forebody conical portion including a forebody conical centerline;
- an afterbody portion;
- said forebody portion being conically shaped and having radii which vary linearly with length;
- said afterbody portion having side surfaces, an upper planar surface and a lower planar surface;
- said afterbody side surfaces being a continuation of said forebody conical portion;
- said side surfaces being segmented into three sections, wherein the first section is a conical upper section extending above the upper planar surface of the afterbody, a second flat surface which extends below the first section and a third constant radius circular arc section which extends below the second section and forms an intersection with the lower planar surface of the afterbody portion;
- said afterbody upper and lower planar surfaces being in parallel planes;
- a vertical tail section, said vertical tail section being positioned aft of the center of gravity of said spacecraft, said vertical tail section being defined by said conical side surfaces in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft;
- said vertical tail section extending above said planar upper surface of the afterbody;
- and wherein said forebody conical portion of said spacecraft is tilted with respect to said afterbody portion, such that the centerline of said spacecraft is below said conical forebody centerline, in the afterbody portion of the spacecraft.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.