Method and device enabling a rocket engine pump to be driven by an internal combustion engine

A method for starting and fueling a rocket engine of a space vehicle using rocket engine pumps, comprising the steps of:

• driving each pump of the rocket engine by at least one device comprising an air-breathing internal combustion engine running on an oxidizer/fuel mixture of the air/hydrocarbon type, a fuel tank supplying the fuel to the internal combustion engine, an oxidizer tank supplying the oxidizer to the internal combustion engine, and a circuit to operate said at least one device, wherein the circuit operating said at least one device, and the fuel tank and the oxidizer tank supplying the fuel and oxidizer, respectively, to the internal combustion engine are separate from propellant tanks of the rocket engine;
• starting the internal combustion engine of said at least one device at an altitude at which the rocket engine is fired and the pump coupled to the internal combustion engine is cooled;
• opening valves of propellant tanks of the rocket engine simultaneous with an increase in the nominal operating speed of the internal combustion engine;
• priming the pumps with a pressure from the propellant tanks to initiate fueling of the rocket engine;
• and
• adjusting flow rate of propellants through the pumps by adjusting a rotation speed of the internal combustion engine of said at least one device for driving the pumps.