Ram booster
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
InventorsVance D. Brand, Walter Ray Morgan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is a space launch system and method to propel a payload bearing craft into earth orbit. The invention has two, or preferably, three stages. The upper stage has rocket engines capable of carrying a payload to orbit and provides the capability of releasably attaching to the lower, or preferably, middle stage. Similar to the lower stage, the middle stage is a reusable booster stage that employs all air breathing engines, is recoverable, and can be turned-around in a short time between missions.
Claims7
A reusable space launch system booster to help propel a payload bearing rocket propelled upper stage into orbit around the earth, comprising:
- a maximum of first and second cylindrical housings, each having a fuel tank containing fuel within the housing, the first housing releasably attached to the second housing and the second housing releasably attached to the upper stage via a mating ring;
- two descent mechanisms, one in each of the first and second housings, to slow the descent of the first housing after release from the second housing and to slow the descent of the second housing after release from the upper stage;
- a plurality of fins attached to the first and second housings;
- a plurality of air breathing engines attached to the fins of the first housing;
- and,
- at least an air breathing engine attached to a cylindrical surface of the second housing wherein said air breathing engines are capable of providing a minimum speed exceeding Mach 2.0 during a substantially vertical ascent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.