Gas gun launcher
AssigneeQuicklaunch, Inc.
InventorsJohn William Hunter, Harry E. Cartland, Philip James Sluder, Richard Edward Twogood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas gun launcher has a pump tube and a launch tube with a first end of the launch tube slidably inserted into a second end of the pump tube. The pump tube may hold a heat exchanger to heat a light gas used to launch a vehicle. A sliding seal can be employed to manage recoil and to retain the gas within the launch tube and the pump tube. A fast-closing muffler at the second end of the launch tube can conserve the light gas utilized for launching a vehicle, enabling the light gas to be recycled. A launch tube alignment system is preferably automatic, ensuring the survival of the launch vehicle.
Claims18
A gas gun launcher for launching a vehicle into space, which comprises:
- a launch tube having a first end and a second end;
- a pump tube defining a chamber, wherein the chamber has a size sufficient to contain a total volume of heated light gas used to launch the vehicle from the gas gun launcher;
- a high-speed opening valve at the first end of said launch tube and in fluid communication with a heat exchanger to receive heated light gas from the heat exchanger;
- a closure at the second end of the launch tube, the closure including a fast-closing valve configured so that the light gas drives the fast-closing valve to a shut position at launch;
- and
- a light gas recycling system for recycling the light gas from the launch tube.
A gas gun launcher for launching a vehicle into space, which comprises:
- a launch tube having a first end and a second end;
- a movable pump tube defining a chamber, wherein the chamber has a size sufficient to contain a total volume of heated light gas used to launch the vehicle from the gas gun launcher, the movable pump tube being movable relative to the launch tube;
- a high-speed opening valve at the first end of said launch tube and in fluid communication with a heat exchanger to receive heated light gas from a heat exchanger;
- and
- a recoil absorber for at least one end of the launch tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.