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US 8,505,852 B2Granted
Reversible space plane
OwnerCharl E. Janekeinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reversible aerospace plane includes an air intake at a first end of the aerospace plane, at least one heat exchanger disposed in the aerospace plane, and an engine at a second end of the aerospace plane, wherein the aerospace plane is configured to accelerate in a first direction and configured to glide and land in a second direction, wherein the second direction is substantially in a reverse direction from the first direction.
Claims10
The reversible aerospace plane comprising:
- an air intake at a first end of the aerospace plane;
- a compressor located next to the first end of the aerospace plane for compressing an intake air;
- a turbine located next to said compressor for driving said compressor;
- a first heat exchanger disposed in the aerospace plane for cooling the compressed intake air to produce cooled, compressed intake air;
- a second heat exchanger disposed in the aerospace plane for cooling the cooled, compressed intake air;
- an engine at a second end of the aerospace plane, wherein the aerospace plane is configured to accelerate in a first orientation and configured to glide and land in a second orientation,
- wherein the second orientation is substantially a reverse of the first orientation;
- wherein one of said first and second heat exchangers is configured to use tanked liquid hydrogen as a coolant to condense at least a portion of an oxygen component of an incident air, and
- a chilled nosecone that is chilled via flashing of the cryogenic propellant whereby the chilled nosecone instills oxygen liquefaction and compression of the ambient air stream at hypersonic speed into a one-step process within the confinements of an infinite boundary layer on the peripheral of the cryogenically chilled air stream.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.