Spacecraft fitted with a de-orbiting device comprising a detonation engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9487310-B2
Application number	US-201314405947-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 3, 2013
Priority date	Jun 5, 2012
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

A spacecraft including at least one main propellant tank, a main engine fed with propellant by the main tank, and a de-orbiting device. The de-orbiting device includes a detonation engine fed with propellant by the main tank.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A spacecraft comprising:
at least one main propellant tank;
a main engine fed with propellant by the main tank; and
a de-orbiting device,
wherein the de-orbiting device comprises a detonation engine fed with propellant by the main tank, and
wherein the main engine is a deflagration engine.

2. A spacecraft according to claim 1 , wherein the detonation engine includes a heater for heating the propellant such that the propellant passes from a solid or liquid phase to a gaseous phase upstream from an injector device.

3. A spacecraft according to claim 2 , wherein the detonation engine includes a combustion chamber and a cooling circuit for cooling the combustion chamber, the heater including the cooling circuit.

4. A spacecraft according to claim 3 , wherein the combustion chamber includes an outer wall and a core, and an annular space is formed between the outer wall and the core.

5. A spacecraft according to claim 1 , wherein the detonation engine is arranged opposite from the main engine relative to the main tank.

6. A spacecraft according to claim 1 , comprising two main tanks, of a fuel tank and an oxidizer tank, the main engine and the detonation engine each being connected to both main tanks.

7. A spacecraft according to claim 1 , wherein the detonation engine is a continuous rotating detonation engine.

8. A spacecraft according to claim 1 , wherein the detonation engine is a pulse detonation engine.

9. A space launcher comprising at least one stage comprising a spacecraft according to claim 1 .

10. A space launcher according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one stage is a last and/or last-but-one stage of the space launcher.

11. A method of de-orbiting a spacecraft forming a stage of a space launcher according to claim 9 , wherein the stage is separated from the space launcher after stopping the main engine and before performing de-orbiting.

12. A method of de-orbiting a spacecraft according to claim 1 , wherein the de-orbiting is performed by the de-orbiting device after the main engine has stopped, the detonation engine of the de-orbiting device being fed with propellant by the main tank at a pressure that is less than or equal to 10 bars.

Assignees

• Snecma

Inventors

• Soulier Nicolas
• Vicentini Maxime
• Conrardy Jean-Marie

Classifications

• B64G1/242 Primary

  Orbits and trajectories · CPC title

• F02K9/766

  with liquid propellant · CPC title

• B64G1/24 Primary

  Guiding or controlling apparatus, e.g. for attitude control · CPC title

• B64G1/402

  Propellant tanks; Feeding propellants · CPC title

• B64G1/401

  Liquid propellant rocket engines (Ion or plasma engines B64G1/413; Arcjets and other resistojets B64G1/415) · CPC title