TECHNOLOGIES AB S R L AB (IT)
| DE3608323A1 | 1987-09-17 | |||
| US6364253B1 | 2002-04-02 | |||
| US3891160A | 1975-06-24 | |||
| US6488233B1 | 2002-12-03 | |||
| FR750086A | 1933-08-03 | |||
| GB1053580A |
SCOTT W B: "CONSORTIUM STUDIES 'MAGLIFTER' CONCEPT", AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY, MCGRAW-HILL INC. NEW YORK, US, vol. 142, no. 25, 19 June 1995 (1995-06-19), pages 69, XP000511035, ISSN: 0005-2175
| 1. | 1 An aerospace vehicle (Fig. 1), in particular launch vehicles, sounding rockets, spacecraft, airplanes and helicopters comprising at least one vehicle's body with propulsion system (la), at least a propellant, that is energy, reservoir (3a), at least a propellant, that is energy, transfer system (2a) to connect the reservoir to the actual body of the vehicle, characterised in that the reservoir is kept separated from the actual vehicle's body. |
| 2. | An aerospace vehicle (Fig. 1,2), according to claim 1, further characterised in that the propellant transfer system comprises at least one umbilical tube (2a) through which the propellant, if fluid, can flow towards the body (la) of the vehicle, in order to provide the thrust. |
| 3. | An aerospace vehicle (Fig. 3), according to claim 1, further characterised in that the propellant, that is energy, transfer system comprises air or vacuum, in the case the energy source necessary to the vehicle's body (1c) to generate thrust, is transmittable via air or vacuum, whereby the vehicle's body has a power receiver (4c) and the reservoir (2c) has a power transmitter (3c) beaming towards the receiver of the vehicle's body. |
| 4. | An aerospace vehicle (Fig. 4), according to claim 1, further characterised in that the propellant, that is energy, transfer system comprises at least an electromagnetic contact system (4d), linked to magnetic levitation rails (2d), in the case the energy source, necessary to feed the vehicle's body (1d) to generate thrust, is neither fluid nor transmittable via air or vacuum, whereby the energy reservoir (3d) uses electric energy to generate power to be transferred to the propulsion systems of the vehicle's body. |
| 5. | A method of using an aerospace vehicle (Fig. 1), comprising at least one vehicle's body (la) with propulsion system, a propellant, that is energy, reservoir (3a), a propellant, that is energy, transfer system (2a) to connect the reservoir to the vehicle's body, characterised by providing the reservoir in a separate location from the vehicle's body. |
| 6. | A method of using an aerospace vehicle (Fig. 2) according to claim 5, further characterised by providing at least one umbilical tube (2a) through which the propellant, if fluid, can flow towards the vehicle's body (la), in order to provide the thrust. |
| 7. | A method of using an aerospace vehicle (Fig. 3) according to claim 5, further characterised by providing air or vacuum as energy transfer means, in the case the energy source necessary to vehicle's body to generate thrust is transmittable via air or vacuum, whereby the vehicle's body (1c) receives the power by means of a power receiver (4c) and the reservoir (2c) transmits the power by means of a transmitter (3c) beaming towards the receiver of the vehicle's body. |
| 8. | A method of using an aerospace vehicle (Fig. 4) according to claim 5, further characterised by providing at least an electromagnetic contact system (4d), linked to magnetic levitation rails (2d), in the case the energy source, necessary to feed the vehicle's body (1d) to generate thrust, is neither fluid nor transmittable via air or vacuum, whereby the energy reservoir (3d) uses electric energy to generate power to be transferred to the propulsion systems of the vehicle's body. 9 An aerospace vehicle, according to claims 1 or 2, whereby the aerospace vehicle is an airplane or an helicopter. |
| 9. | A method of using an aerospace vehicle, according to claims 5 or 6, whereby the aerospace vehicle is an airplane or an helicopter. |
This invention proposes an aerospace transportation system that applies to launch vehicles, sounding rockets, spacecraft, aeroplanes and helicopters. In this system the mass of propellant, or the energy source necessary to feed the propulsion system in order to generate thrust, is kept separated from the vehicle's body. In this way the thrust generated by the propulsion system of the vehicle's body can be fully used to accelerate vehicle's body and not the propellant, that is energy source. The propellant, that is energy, transfer to the propulsion systems of the vehicle's body occurs through : A draft tube that connects the propellant tank to the body of the aerospace transportation system, in the case of the propellant, that is energy source, for the generation of thrust being fluid.
Otherwise through air or vacuum, if the propellant, that is, energy source can be transmittable via air or vacuum.
Otherwise through electric-magnetic connectors that link the vehicle's body to the energy source necessary to generate thrust.
According to prior art, The low efficiency of today's conventional launchers and space transportation systems is caused by the high ratio between mass at launch and mass once the operational flight conditions have been reached, according to the type of mission for which the system has been considered.
The high value of the mass ratio is caused by the fact that the highest part of propellant, used to allow the vehicle to accelerate, is needed to carry along the path and accelerate the propellant together with the structure and the remaining elements of the vehicle.
Conventional rockets functioning is, hence, based on the main idea of carrying the entire mass of propellant needed along the flight and, for multistage rockets, jettisoning the lower stages as soon as the propellant has been consumed, in order to decrease the total mass along the path.
The problem of conventional rockets is the extremely low efficiency of performances due to the high mass ratio.
The proposed way to increase launcher performances is, hence, decreasing the amount of propellant mass at lift off, keeping in mind, that thrust has to be generated in order to accelerate the vehicle. In order to achieve this goal the thrust can be generated via an externally kept propellant, that is energy source, to the vehicle.
Now I will describe, in a non limited manner, an embodiment of the invention. The invention is comprised of: One vehicle's body. The vehicle's body can be composed of one or more stages and can be designed for manned or unmanned missions (Figures 1,2, 3,4).
At least one propellant reservoir, or energy source, necessary to feed the propulsion systems of the vehicle's body and kept external to the vehicle.
At least one transfer system for the propellant, that is energy source, that links the propellant, that is energy, reservoir/s and the vehicle's body.
There are three types of propellant, that is energy, transfer systems: A. The first considered connecting system, used for the transfer of the propellant, proposed in the invention, is a umbilical tube system (2a), in case of the propellant, that is energy source, being a fluid.
The tube is connected on one side to the propellant reservoir (3a) and on the other side to the vehicle's body (la). The umbilical tube is maintained as long as the vehicle departs from the reservoir's location (Fig. 2).
During the flight with the umbilical tube, the vehicle moves in such way that the tube does not interact with the mass flow outgoing the vehicle's body. If needed appropriate attitude control systems are installed on board the vehicle in order to achieve a safe flight.
According to the vehicle design when operational conditions are met, the lower stage and/or the tube are/is jettisoned.
If more than one, the higher stages can have a similar umbilical tube linked to the previous stages. The umbilical tube is maintained as long as the actual stage departs from the previous stage's location, once it has been jettisoned. In this cases the stage jettisoned transports the propellant, that is energy source, to feed the subsequent stage. Hence the jettisoned stage then functions as the reservoir for the subsequent stage.
According to the design the pipe can be flexible or rigid with a variable cross section and a telescopic behaviour.
A typical application of the invention for helicopters is for building bridges. A typical application of the invention for airplanes is to have shorter runways during takeoff.
B. The second connecting system considered for the invention varies from the first (A. ), in the way of transmitting the energy source necessary to feed the thrust systems of the vehicle's body. For this connecting system, the vehicle's body (1c) receives energy through air or vacuum (Fig. 3).
This is allowed when the energy source is transmittable through air and/or vacuum. An energy source transmitter (3c), located at the energy reservoir (2c) sends power bursts (5c) to a receiver (4c), onboard the vehicle's body (Ic) that channels it to the propulsion systems, through a receiver.
C. The third proposed way (Fig. 4) of linking the vehicle's body to the energy source considers the vehicle's body (1d), at lift off, accelerating along a rail system (2d) through which the body receives power via electromagnetic connectors (4d) from the energy reservoir (3d). The nature of the energy exchanged between the rail and the vehicle's body is electromagnetic. The phase of the flight along the rail might occur in a tunnel where the rails are fixed.