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US 7,401,752 B2Granted
Protective shield assembly for space optics and associated methods
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsMark Andrew Lundgren, Henry K. Shu, Carl Frederick Dadson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A protective shield assembly capable of being deployed from a launch vehicle is provided, and methods for assembling and deploying the protective shield assembly are also provided. The protective shield assembly includes a shroud, and a flexible sheet of material within the shroud. The flexible sheet of material is capable of substantially conforming to a contour of at least a portion of the launch vehicle to provide a protective barrier.
Claims12
A protective shield assembly for a launch vehicle comprising:
- a shroud;
- and
- a flexible sheet of material attached to the shroud so as to define a pocket between the flexible sheet and the shroud, wherein at least a portion of the flexible sheet of material is attached to the shroud so as to be capable of conforming to a contour of a surface to be protected independently of the shroud.
A protective shield assembly for a launch vehicle comprising:
- a shroud comprising a plurality of segments;
- and
- a flexible sheet of material within the shroud, wherein the flexible sheet of material is capable of substantially conforming to a contour of a surface to be protected independently of the shroud, wherein the flexible sheet of material comprises a plurality of sheets of material, and wherein each sheet of material is independently attached to a respective segment of the shroud and at least one of the plurality of sheets is configured to at least partially overlap another sheet of material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.