Craft and method of coupling a propulsion system to a regenerative fuel cell system
AssigneeThales
InventorsIsabelle Nann, Antoine Iffly, Martin Lang
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Abstract
The invention relates to a craft comprising an energy storage system of the RFCS (regenerative fuel cell system) type and a system for pressurizing the propellants used for propulsion. The craft also comprises a plurality of means (31 to 38) for coupling the tanks of the fuel cell to the propellant-pressurizing tanks of the propulsion system of the craft when the tanks of the propellant-pressurizing system are no longer used. The invention also relates to the method of coupling the tanks of the propellant-pressurizing means to the energy storage system. The invention applies particularly to telecommunication satellites and more generally to spacecraft.
Claims10
Craft comprising a regenerative fuel cell energy storage system, a chemical propulsion system and a system for pressurizing propellants used for propulsion, comprising:
- a. wherein the energy storage system comprises a first tank containing a fuel, a second tank containing an oxidizer and a third tank containing a product resulting from the reaction between the oxidizer and the fuel;
- b. wherein the propellant pressurizing system comprises at least a fourth pressurizing tank and a fifth pressurizing tank, the fourth and fifth tanks each containing a pressurizing gas;
- c. one or more means for coupling the tanks of the energy storage system to the tanks of the propellant pressurizing system, these means comprising means for:
- i. draining the pressurizing tanks;
- ii. isolating the propulsion system from the pressurizing tanks;
- iii. isolating the pressurizing tanks from each other;
- and
- iv. connecting, when the pressurizing tanks no longer contain the pressurizing gas, the first tank to the fourth tank and the second tank to the fifth tank.
Method for coupling the tanks of an energy storage system of the regenerative fuel cell type to tanks for pressurizing propellants of a chemical propulsion system of a craft, the energy storage system comprising at least three tanks for containing, in a first tank, a fuel, in a second tank, an oxidizer and, in a third tank, a product resulting from the reaction of the oxidizer and the fuel, and a pressurizing system comprising at least fourth and fifth pressurizing tanks containing a pressurizing gas, comprising the following successive steps:
- a. in a first step, the fuel is contained only in the first tank and the oxidizer is contained only in the second tank;
- b. in a second step, the propulsion system is isolated front the pressurizing tanks;
- c. in a third step, the pressurizing tanks are drained;
- d. in a fourth step, the pressurizing tanks are isolated from each other;
- e. in a fifth step, the pressurizing tanks are connected to the first and second tanks, respectively of the energy storage system;
- and
- f. in a sixth step, the fourth tank contains a portion of the fuel and the fifth tank contains a portion of the oxidizer, the other portions being contained in the first and second tanks of the energy storage system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.