Method of launching a space vehicle
The horizontal launch method using a long tube and pressure differences addresses the inefficiencies of traditional rocket launches, achieving a higher payload fraction and reducing fuel costs.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2022012632
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2022-12-01
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-12-01
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Method for launching a space vehicle Field of invention
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of systems, methods and apparatus for space launch of a payload.
[0002] Multiple solutions are known for sending a payload into space, with acceleration provided by controlled explosive charges, such as gunpowder for small loads. For large payloads, chemical combustion rockets are currently the only means that have proven effective for launching payloads into space. Although much work has been done in attempting to develop alternative technologies for the rapid acceleration of large payloads, such as electromagnetic guns, heat guns, and plasma arc acceleration, no alternative technology to date has proven useful and reliable.
[0003] With regard to space launch, although rocket propulsion is a long-proven technology, the exclusive use of conventional rocket launches is problematic in that it remains expensive, dangerous and requires the carrying of a considerable mass of fuel for the initial phase.
[0004] A major advantage of rocket propulsion over gun propulsion is that the ultimate achievable speed is independent of acceleration rather than being limited to a proportion of the square root of the acceleration.
[0005] On the other hand, a major limitation of rocket propulsion is that the mass fraction of the total vehicle mass represented by the payload mass is limited by the physics of the well-known rocket equation. This physics causes the payload fraction to decrease exponentially with the ratio of the ultimate velocity achieved to the rocket exhaust velocity.
[0006] To overcome this problem, two-, three-, and four-stage rockets are used to launch payloads from the Earth's surface to Earth orbit. The resulting total payload fractions in orbit for such vehicles are in the order of 0.5% for small rockets, up to about 2.5% for very large rocket systems. This means that the other portion, ranging from 97.5% to 99.5%, is either entirely discarded or reused to a greater or lesser extent. State of the art
[0007] Patent application WO2014152778A1 has proposed a launch system consisting of a launch vehicle and a launch tube which can be electrically conductive and which can be combined with at least one insulating tube.
[0008] Also known is patent application WO2006 / 056742 describing a satellite launch system, which comprises an open-ended launch tube housing a vehicle, and steam generators designed to inject steam into said tube, thereby accelerating the vehicle towards the open end and launching it at supersonic speed.
[0009] US9567108B2 provides a gas gun launcher in which a launch tube is connected to a pump tube. The pump tube contains a heat exchanger that heats a contained volume of light gas used to launch a projectile such as a rocket-propelled vehicle. The heat exchanger is contained within a chamber into which the light gas is pumped from storage. The heat exchanger heats the light gas within the chamber once the chamber contains a sufficient amount of gas for launch and raises the temperature and pressure of the gas to the launch condition.
[0010] Patent WO2011 / 038365 proposes a gas cannon missile launcher, which comprises a pump tube and a launch tube, a first end of the launch tube being slidably inserted into a second end of the pump tube. A sliding seal is employed to retain the gas within the launch tube and the pump tube. A launch tube alignment system is preferably automatic to further improve launch accuracy. An embodiment of the gas cannon missile launcher suitable for use in water, for example, on the ocean or in a large lake, preferably uses a neutrally buoyant launch tube and a neutrally buoyant pump tube. Furthermore, a quick-closing silencer at the second end of the launch tube conserves the light gas used to launch a vehicle.
[0011] Patent KR2003-0075119 discloses a horizontal rocket launching device which comprises a horizontal rail installed horizontally and formed in a specific length, a vertical rail installed on a vertical structure and formed in a specific length, a curved rail for connecting the horizontal rail to the vertical rail and having a specific curved radius, and a horizontal launching device moving along the rails and loaded with a motor. Disadvantages of the prior art
[0012] The various solutions do not allow a maximized payload to be placed in Earth orbit. In all the solutions of the prior art, the launcher ensuring takeoff represents a significant part of the payload. Solution provided by the invention
[0013] In order to overcome these drawbacks, the invention relates, in its most general sense, to a method of launching a space vehicle carrying a load useful in space characterized in that it comprises a first phase of acceleration of said rocket in a horizontal tube with a length greater than 50 km, said tube having a cross section complementary to the section of said space vehicle to ensure a watertight closure at the level of said rocket, the acceleration being produced by a fluidic overpressure in the part of the tube behind said space vehicle and a depression in the part of the tube in front of said space vehicle, followed by a ballistic phase at the exit of said horizontal tube.
[0014] Preferably, the depression in the tube in front of said space vehicle is between 0.01 bar and 0.0005 bar, typically 0.001 bar ±50%.
[0015] Preferably, said fluid overpressure in the portion of the tube behind the space vehicle (10) is produced by the fall of a mass into a chamber.
[0016] Advantageously, the cumulative cross-sectional area of said masses is between 1000 and 16000 m2, typically 1000 m2 ±50% by mass and the height of the chambers is between 50 and 150 m, the cumulative mass being between 100,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes.
[0017] According to one variant, the cross-sectional area of the tunnel is between 5 and 20 m2, typically 15 m2 ± 50%.
[0018] The invention also relates to a system for launching a space vehicle carrying a payload into space, characterized in that it comprises a horizontal tube with a length greater than 50 km, said tube having a cross-section complementary to the section of said space vehicle, said tube communicating with at least one source of depression in its front part, and at least one source of pressure in its rear part.
[0019] Preferably, said fluid overpressure source is constituted by at least one chamber containing a mass.
[0020] Advantageously, the cumulative cross-sectional area of said masses is between 1000 and 16000 m2, typically 1000 m2 ±50% by mass and the height of the chambers is between 50 and 150 m, the cumulative mass being between 100,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes.
[0021] Detailed description of a non-limiting example of embodiment
[0022] The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description, concerning a non-limiting example of embodiment illustrated by the appended drawings where:
[0023] [Fig-1] [Fig.l] represents a schematic view of the launcher according to the invention
[0024] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a schematic view of the launch system
[0025] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] represents a schematic view of a flight cycle of the vehicle spatial
[0026] [Fig.4] [Fig.4] represents a schematic top view of the rear part of the launcher
[0027] The present invention relates to a horizontal space launcher avoiding the need to carry the fuel which will subsequently be used for propulsion, to be more cost-effective in terms of fuel used as well as overall energy involved.
[0028] The space vehicle (10) carrying the payload has a cross-section complementary to that of the tunnel (100). It comprises a low-power reactor ignited during the atmospheric phase, to cancel the drag of the space vehicle (10).
[0029] The general principle is to ensure the initial acceleration phase by propelling the vehicle (10) in a tube (100) of several kilometers, typically 100 to 120 km, substantially horizontal, extended at the front by a curved part (120) oriented upwards to provide a ballistic ascending component. The rear end of the tube (100) communicates with a pressurization chamber formed by one or more towers (110) containing masses (120) whose release and fall causes pressurization upstream of the space vehicle (10).
[0030] The preparation of the masses (111 to 114) is done by elevation with an electric winch which can be supplied with the electrical energy available during consumption dips and production peaks, to avoid resorting to inefficient electricity storage during periods of overproduction.
[0031] The acceleration phase is carried out with a pressure difference between the front and the rear of the launcher in the tunnel. The fall of 4 masses ensures that the pressure in the tunnel is maintained.
[0032] Takeoff takes place as follows: - Acceleration phase (20) to reach a speed of 6 km / s at the end of the straight line. - Ascent phase in the atmosphere (21) with lift then ballistic trajectory to the desired altitude, crossing the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere illustrated by the dotted lines separating the atmospheric layers. In the atmospheric phase, the reactors equipping the space vehicle (10) are ignited to compensate for the drag. - The orbital phase (22) of circularization of the orbit (22) and release of the payload (23) - The deorbit phase (24) and return to Earth of the launcher.
[0033] To produce a high pressure behind the space vehicle (10), [Fig.4] illustrates an embodiment with four towers (111 to 114) with a height of 114 m, connected to the tunnel (100) by four conduits (101 to 104) filled with a fluid, for example air or water, and equipped with a mass of 200,000 tonnes which can be released to create a pressure difference between upstream and downstream of the vehicle (10).
[0034] Typically, the cumulative cross-sectional area of the masses (111 to 114) is between 1000 and 16000 m2, typically 1000 m2+50% per mass.
[0035] The cross-sectional area of the tunnel (100) is typically between 5 and 20 m2, typically 15 m2±50%.
[0036] The tunnel is subjected downstream of the space vehicle (10) to a depression, between 0.01 bar and 0.0005 bar, typically 0.001 bar +50%.
[0037] The take-off speed reached by the space vehicle (10) at the exit of the tunnel is approximately 6000 m / s and the maximum acceleration is 15 g.
[0038] The initial temperature of the chambers (101 to 104) is approximately 300 K.
[0039] The height of the chambers (101 to 104) is proportional to the cross-section of the space vehicle (10) and to the take-off speed and inversely proportional to the cross-section of the chambers (101 to 104) and to the maximum acceleration.
[0040] Atmospheric ascent is achieved by creating lift. During this ascent, the reactor is ignited to completely cancel out the drag.
[0041] For the orbital phase, the angular velocity due to the change of reference and the rotation of the Earth is taken into account and from the parameters of the orbit described by the space vehicle (10) and via the eccentricity vector, the mass of fuel required is determined. Examples of settings
[0042] The payload is typically of the order of 7 tonnes, for a tunnel at sea level, and may increase slightly depending on the altitude (7.3 tonnes at 1000 m, 7.6 tonnes at 2000 m altitude), for a space vehicle (10) with a total mass of approximately 60 tonnes and a downstream pressure in the tunnel (100) of 0.001 bar. With a pressure of 0.01 bar, the payload is only 4.8 tonnes.
[0043] The length of the tunnel (10) is 120 km.
[0044] The cross-sectional area of the space vehicle (10) is approximately 15m2. By reducing the cross-sectional area, it is possible, with other parameters unchanged, to slightly increase the payload.
[0045] The take-off speed is of the order of 6000 m / s, varying between 5500 m / s for payloads of the order of 4.7 tonnes and 6500 m / s for payloads of the order of 9.5 tonnes.
[0046] The cross-section of a tower is about 4000 m2, with a set of 4 towers (101 to 104). The finesse of the space vehicle (10) is 3.
[0047] The acceleration phase takes place in the tunnel (100) in which the pressure in front of the space vehicle (10) is reduced to 1 / 1000th of atmospheric pressure. To create thrust, a high pressure at the rear of the launcher (of the order of 6 bars) is produced by the fall of 4 masses (11 there 114).
[0048] Simulations show this solution allows to drastically reduce the use of fuel for putting one or more satellites into orbit.
[0049] Sending 7 tonnes of payload to an altitude of 1000 km requires approximately 38 tonnes of fuel for the atmospheric and orbital phases.
[0050] For comparison, an Ariane 5 rocket uses 700t of fuel for 15-20 tonnes of payload, with a ratio of 1 to 2% of payload to total mass, whereas with the invention, the ratio exceeds 10%.
Claims
Claims
1. - A method of launching a space vehicle (10) carrying a payload into space, characterized in that it comprises a first phase of accelerating said rocket in a horizontal tube (100) of a length greater than 50 km, said tube (100) having a cross-section complementary to the section of said space vehicle (10) to ensure a leaktight closure at the level of said rocket, the acceleration being produced by a fluidic overpressure in the part of the tube (100) behind said space vehicle (10), said fluidic overpressure in the part of the tube (100) behind the space vehicle (10) is produced by the fall of a mass (101 to 104) into a chamber (111 to 114), and a depression in the part of the tube (100) in front of said space vehicle (10), followed by a ballistic phase at the exit of said horizontal tube (100).
2. - Method for launching a space vehicle (10) according to claim 1 characterized in that the depression in the tube (100) in front of said space vehicle (10) is between 0.01 bar and 0.0005 bar, typically 0.001 bar ±50%.
3. - Method for launching a space vehicle (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the cumulative cross-sectional area of said masses (111 to 114) is between 1000 and 16000 m2, typically 1000 m2 ±50% by mass and the height of the chambers is between 50 and 150 m, the cumulative mass being between 100,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes.
4. - Method for launching a space vehicle (10) according to claim 1 characterized in that the transverse surface of the tunnel (100) is typically between 5 and 20 m2, typically 15 m2 ± 50%.
5. - Launch system for a space vehicle (10) carrying a payload into space, characterized in that it comprises a horizontal tube (100) with a length greater than 50 km, said tube (100) having a cross section complementary to the section of said space vehicle (10), said tube communicating with at least one source of depression in its front part, and at least one source of pressure in its rear part.
6. - Launch system for a space vehicle (10) carrying a payload into space according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said fluid overpressure source is constituted by at least one
7. chamber (111 to 114) containing a mass (101 to 104). - Launch system for a space vehicle (10) carrying a payload into space according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the cumulative cross-sectional area of said masses (111 to 114) is between 1000 and 16000 m2, typically 1000 m2 ±50% by mass and the height of the chambers is between 50 and 150 m, the cumulative mass being between 100,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes.