Recovery device

Abstract

To solve the problem that there is a case in which it is difficult to recover a flying object.SOLUTION: A recovery device has an engine part which burns supplied propellant to obtain a thrust in a predetermined direction, and is configured to be mounted on an airframe of a recovery object such that the recovery device can obtain, with the engine part, the thrust in a direction opposite to a direction in which the airframe of the recovery object obtains a thrust.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recovery device, a flying object, and a method for recovering a flying object. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Flying objects such as rockets that obtain thrust by burning a propellant are known.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a flying body that can descend by opening a parachute. According to Patent Document 1, the flying body is equipped with an attitude changing device that, in a parachute descent state in which a parachute pulled out from a parachute storage section of the flying body is opened and descends, transitions from a stage in which the flying body body is vertically suspended only by the suspension rope, with the suspension rope restrained at a portion of the flying body near the tail, to a stage in which the suspension rope restrained at a portion of the flying body near the tail is released and the flying body body is horizontally suspended by the suspension rope and the horizontal suspension rope. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-182642 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When using a parachute to recover a flying object as described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to control the landing point with high precision. Therefore, it is necessary to drop the aircraft into the sea and recover it, which requires additional functions such as making the recovered aircraft waterproof. Another method of recovering a flying object is to use the same rocket engine during descent as during ascent to slow it down. However, the thrust level and controllability required during ascent and descent are completely different. Therefore, there is a problem in that the design of a propulsion system that simultaneously satisfies the performance required during ascent and descent becomes complicated. Thus, there has been a problem that it is difficult to easily recover a flying object.

[0006] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a recovery device, a flying object, and a recovery method that can solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve this object, a recovery device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: an engine section that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction; The engine is configured to be mounted on an aircraft to be recovered so that the engine can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. The structure is as follows.

[0008] In addition, the flying object according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is The aircraft to be recalled, A recovery device mounted on the upper part of the aircraft to be recovered; having The recovery device has an engine unit that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction, The recovery device is mounted on the upper stage of the aircraft to be recovered so that the engine unit can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. The structure is as follows.

[0009] In addition, a method for recovering a flying object according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of: After separating the separation target, the flying object is reversed from its ascent position, Use a different engine to the one used for ascent to provide thrust in a direction that slows the descent speed The structure is as follows. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the above-mentioned configurations, the above-mentioned problems can be solved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a rocket equipped with a recovery device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a recovery device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an engine unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the engine unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an engine unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the engine unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of a rocket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a rocket 100 equipped with a recovery device 200. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the recovery device 200. Figs. 3 to 5 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an engine section 240. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the engine section 240. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the rocket 100. Note that in the present disclosure, the drawings may be associated with one or more of the embodiments.

[0013] In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, a rocket 100, which is a flying object equipped with a recovery device 200 having an engine for recovering the vehicle in addition to the engine used during launch, will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the recovery device 200 is mounted between the first stage rocket 110 and the second stage rocket 120 of the rocket 100 to be launched, with the engine section 240 facing upward. In other words, the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110 so as to obtain thrust in the opposite direction to the direction in which thrust is obtained by the first stage rocket 110 to be recovered. According to this configuration, the rocket 100 separates the second stage rocket 120 to be separated and the recovery device 200 during the ascent of the rocket 100, and then reverses the direction of the vehicle so that the recovery device 200 side faces the ground. Then, the rocket 100 lands at a predetermined landing point while performing deceleration and attitude control using the propulsion system of the recovery device 200 during descent. For example, the rocket 100 can land on any land surface using landing legs 210, 220, etc., provided on the recovery device 200.

[0014] In this disclosure, as an example, a case where the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110, which is the vehicle to be recovered, is illustrated. However, the vehicle to be recovered may be any vehicle other than the first stage rocket 110. In other words, the recovery device 200 can be mounted on the upper stage of any vehicle to be recovered other than the first stage rocket 110. In addition, any separation target other than the second stage rocket 120, such as a fairing, may be mounted on the upper stage of the recovery device 200.

[0015] Moreover, the rocket 100 exemplified in the present disclosure is, for example, a liquid rocket that obtains thrust using liquid fuel. That is, the rocket 100 can obtain thrust by burning liquid fuel during ascent. However, the rocket 100 may be a solid rocket that obtains thrust by burning solid fuel during ascent. The rocket 100 may be a flying object having any purpose. For example, the rocket 100 may be a rocket for launching a satellite, or a manned rocket or an observation rocket.

[0016] In addition, in this disclosure, the launch direction of the rocket 100 illustrated in Fig. 1 will be described as being upward. For example, in the case of Fig. 1, at the launch stage of the rocket 100, the recovery device 200 is mounted above the first stage rocket 110, and the second stage rocket 120 and a fairing are mounted above the recovery device 200. On the other hand, when the rocket 100 descends, the first stage rocket 110 is positioned above the recovery device 200 in order to reverse the direction of the rocket 100.

[0017] As described above, the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110. For example, the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110 in a state in which the recovery device 200 can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the first stage rocket 110, which is the vehicle to be recovered, obtains thrust. In addition, the second stage rocket 120 and the like are mounted on the upper stage of the recovery device 200 so as to be separable from the recovery device 200. The recovery device 200 may be coupled to the first stage rocket 110 or the second stage rocket 120 using any coupling means or separation means.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the recovery device 200. Referring to Fig. 2, the recovery device 200 has, for example, landing legs 210 and 220, a propellant storage section 230, an engine section 240, and gas jets 250 and 260.

[0019] The landing legs 210, 220 are parts that the rocket 100 touches down on when it lands. The landing legs 210, 220 are formed at arbitrary locations on the recovery device 200 so as to be located below the rocket 100 when the rocket 100 reverses its attitude from the attitude during ascent to the time of descent. In other words, the landing legs 210, 220 are formed so as to be located on the opposite side of the propellant storage unit 230 from the side where the first stage rocket 110 is located when the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110 (see FIG. 2).

[0020] In the present disclosure, the specific leg structure of the landing legs 210, 220 is not particularly limited. The leg structure of the landing legs 210, 220 may be any structure capable of landing the rocket 100. In addition, the number of landing legs that the recovery device 200 has is not necessarily limited to two. The recovery device 200 may have any number of landing legs in addition to the landing legs 210, 220, etc.

[0021] The propellant storage unit 230 stores a propellant to be burned in the recovery device 200. For example, the propellant stored in the propellant storage unit 230 can be supplied to the engine unit 240 via a valve or the like described below. The propellant storage unit 230 may store two or more types of propellants such as a fuel and an oxidizer, or may store one type of propellant.

[0022] The engine unit 240 obtains thrust in a predetermined direction by combusting the propellant supplied from the propellant storage unit 230. The engine unit 240 is connected to the propellant storage unit 230 and can receive the propellant stored in the propellant storage unit 230 from the propellant storage unit 230.

[0023] As described above, the engine section 240 is mounted facing upward so as to obtain thrust in the direction opposite to the direction in which thrust is obtained from the first stage rocket 110 to be recovered. For example, when the recovery device 200 is mounted on the upper stage of the first stage rocket 110, the engine section 240 is connected to the propellant storage section 230 so as to be located on the opposite side to the side on which the first stage rocket 110 is located as viewed from the propellant storage section 230 (see FIG. 2). Due to this relationship, the engine section 240 can eject combustion gas in the opposite direction to the direction in which the first stage rocket 110 ejects combustion gas.

[0024] As an example, the engine unit 240 may be a general rocket engine. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example in which the engine unit 240 is a rocket engine. With reference to Fig. 3, the engine unit 240 may have, for example, valves 241 and 242, a combustion chamber 243, an igniter 244, and a nozzle 245.

[0025] In such a configuration, the propellant stored in the propellant storage unit 230 is supplied to the combustion chamber 243 via the valves 241 and 242. For example, two types of propellant stored in the propellant storage unit 230 may be supplied to the combustion chamber 243 via the valves 241 and 242, respectively. In addition, the igniter 244 starts the combustion of the propellant in the combustion chamber 243. Thereafter, the combustion gas generated by the combustion in the combustion chamber 243 is accelerated by the nozzle 245. For example, with such a configuration, the engine unit 240 can obtain thrust.

[0026] Furthermore, the engine unit 240 may be a detonation engine that utilizes a detonation wave. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example in the case where the engine unit 240 is a detonation engine. Referring to Fig. 4, for example, the engine unit 240 may have a valve 246, a combustion chamber 247 having an opening, and an igniter 248. As shown in Fig. 5, in the case where the engine unit 240 is a detonation engine, a premixed gas formed by mixing a propellant injected from the valve 246 with air is ignited by the igniter 248 to cause detonation.

[0027] For example, FIG. 6 shows an example of the operation of the engine section 240 in the case of a detonation engine. Referring to FIG. 6, a premixed mixture of propellant injected from a valve 246 and air is ignited by an igniter 248 (ignition in FIG. 6). This causes detonation (combustion in FIG. 6). As a result, the pressure in the combustion chamber 247 increases due to the detonation, and thrust can be obtained. In addition, the combustion gas generated by the detonation is exhausted from an opening of the combustion chamber 247. This causes the pressure in the combustion chamber 247 to decrease (exhaust in FIG. 6). In addition, after the pressure decrease, air begins to enter the combustion chamber 247, and the chamber is filled with air again (intake in FIG. 6). Thereafter, a propellant is injected from the valve 246 and ignited, thereby generating detonation again. For example, by repeating such operations, the engine section 240 can periodically obtain thrust.

[0028] For example, the engine unit 240 may be any one of the above-mentioned examples or a combination thereof. The engine unit 240 may be a known unit other than the above-mentioned examples. Note that in the present disclosure, the configurations of the valves 241 and 242, the combustion chamber 243, the igniter 244, the nozzle 245, the valve 246, the combustion chamber 247, and the igniter 248 that constitute the engine unit 240 are not limited to a specific one. Also, the engine unit 240 may employ various modified examples, such as having a number of valves different from those exemplified in the present disclosure.

[0029] The gas jets 250, 260 (RCS: Reaction Control System) are devices for controlling the attitude of the rocket 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the gas jets 250, 260 are formed on the side of the recovery device 200. In the case of the present disclosure, the gas jets 250, 260 are used when reversing the orientation of the vehicle so that the recovery device 200 side of the rocket 100 faces the ground after the second stage rocket 120 and the recovery device 200 are separated.

[0030] In addition, in the present disclosure, there is no particular limitation on the specific configuration of the gas jets 250, 260. The gas jets 250, 260 may have a general configuration, such as including a propellant tank and a thruster that generates thrust by injecting gas. In addition, the gas jets 250, 260 may be of a hot gas type or a cold gas type.

[0031] Furthermore, the number of gas jets included in the collection device 200 is not necessarily limited to two. The collection device 200 may have any number of gas jets in addition to the gas jets 250, 260, etc.

[0032] The above is an example of the configuration of the recovery device 200. Next, an example of the operation of the rocket 100 when landing will be described with reference to Fig. 7.

[0033] 7, the rocket 100 separates the second stage rocket 120 and the recovery device 200, which are to be separated, during the ascent of the rocket 100 (step S101). For example, the rocket 100 may perform the above separation by detaching the second stage rocket 120 and the recovery device 200 in response to an external command or the like.

[0034] After the second stage rocket 120 and the recovery device 200 are separated, the rocket 100 performs attitude control using the gas jets 250, 260 of the recovery device 200 (step S102). For example, the rocket 100 reverses the orientation of the vehicle so that the recovery device 200 side of each component of the rocket 100 faces the ground.

[0035] After that, the rocket 100 is decelerated by obtaining thrust from the engine section 240 of the recovery device 200, and performs attitude control using the gas jets 250, 260 as necessary (step S103). Then, the rocket 100 lands at a predetermined landing point while performing deceleration and attitude control.

[0036] The above is an example of the operation of rocket 100 when landing.

[0037] In this way, the rocket 100 has the recovery device 200. With this configuration, the first stage rocket 110, which is the vehicle to be recovered among the rocket 100, can land by decelerating using the thrust obtained by the recovery device 200. Also, with the above configuration, it is possible to land after controlling the landing point using the recovery device 200. This makes it possible to easily recover the first stage rocket 110, which is the vehicle to be recovered.

[0038] In addition, the mass of a rocket after the first stage propellant is exhausted is generally about 1 / 20 of the total weight of the rocket at launch. Therefore, if the same thrust as at launch is generated when recovering the first stage rocket 110, an excessively large load will act on the vehicle. According to the configuration described in this disclosure, thrust can be generated using a recovery device 200 having a recovery engine. Therefore, appropriate thrust according to the mass at the time of recovery can be easily generated, and appropriate recovery can be achieved.

[0039] Also, as an example, the recovery device 200 described in this disclosure is a liquid propulsion system device that obtains thrust by burning a liquid propellant such as liquid oxygen. However, the recovery device 200 may be a solid propulsion system device.

[0040] The configuration of the recovery device 200 is not limited to the example exemplified in this disclosure. For example, the recovery device 200 may be configured to share propellant with the first stage rocket 110, which is the vehicle to be recovered. In other words, the recovery device 200 may be configured to receive a supply of propellant from the first stage rocket 110. When configured in this way, the recovery device 200 does not necessarily have to include the propellant storage unit 230.

[0041] In addition, the attitude control function performed by the gas jets 250, 260 may be possessed by the vehicle to be recovered, such as the first stage rocket 110, instead of the recovery device 200. In other words, the attitude control performed after the second stage rocket 120 and the recovery device 200 are separated may be performed by a gas jet possessed by the vehicle to be recovered, such as the first stage rocket 110. When configured in this manner, the recovery device 200 does not need to have the gas jets 250, 260.

[0042] Furthermore, the rocket 100 may have an optional parachute or the like in addition to the recovery device 200. In other words, the rocket 100 may be configured to land by decelerating using both the thrust obtained by the recovery device 200 and the air resistance of a parachute or the like.

[0043] <Additional Notes> A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as follows: The recovery device and the like in the present invention will be outlined below. However, the present invention is not limited to the following configuration.

[0044] (Appendix 1) an engine section that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction; The engine is configured to be mounted on an aircraft to be recovered so that the engine can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. Recovery device. (Appendix 2) 2. The recovery device of claim 1, The engine section includes a detonation engine that utilizes detonation waves. Recovery device. (Appendix 3) 10. The recovery device according to claim 1 or 2, a propellant storage unit for storing a propellant to be supplied to the engine unit; The engine unit is connected to the propellant storage unit so as to be located on the opposite side of the propellant storage unit from the side on which the aircraft to be recovered is located when the recovery device is mounted on the aircraft to be recovered. Recovery device. (Appendix 4) 4. The recovery device according to claim 3, It has landing legs that touch the ground when landing, The landing gear is formed so as to be located on the opposite side of the propellant storage unit from the side on which the aircraft to be recovered is located when the recovery device is mounted on the aircraft to be recovered. Recovery device. (Appendix 5) A recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The recovery device is equipped with a gas jet on the side for attitude control. The gas jet is used to invert the attitude of the aircraft to be recovered from the attitude at the time of ascent, and thrust is obtained from the engine unit. Recovery device. (Appendix 6) 6. The recovery device according to claim 5, The recovery device is configured to be capable of detachably mounting a predetermined separation target on an opposite side to a side where the recovery device is coupled to the aircraft to be recovered, The gas jet is configured to perform attitude control after separating the separation target. Recovery device. (Appendix 7) The aircraft to be recalled, A recovery device mounted on the upper part of the aircraft to be recovered; having The recovery device has an engine unit that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction, The recovery device is mounted on the aircraft to be recovered so that the engine unit can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to a direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. Flying object. (Appendix 8) A method for recovering a flying object, comprising the steps of: After separating the separation target, the flying object is reversed from its ascent position, Use a different engine to the one used for ascent to provide thrust in a direction that slows the descent speed How to recover a projectile.

[0045] In addition, some or all of the configurations described in Appendix 2 to Appendix 6 that are subordinate to the recovery device described in Appendix 1 may also be subordinate to the flying object described in Appendix 7 and the method for recovering the flying object described in Appendix 8 in a similar subordinate relationship.

[0046] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100 Rocket 110 First Stage Rocket 120 2nd stage rocket 200 Recovery Device 210 Landing gear 220 Landing gear 230 Propellant Storage Section 240 Engine section 241 Valve 242 Valve 243 Combustion Chamber 244 Igniter 245 Nozzle 246 Valve 247 Combustion Chamber 248 Igniter 250 Gas Jet 260 Gas Jet

Claims

1. an engine section that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction; The engine is configured to be mounted on an aircraft to be recovered so that the engine can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. Recovery device.

2. The recovery device according to claim 1, The engine section includes a detonation engine that utilizes detonation waves. Recovery device.

3. The recovery device according to claim 1, a propellant storage unit for storing a propellant to be supplied to the engine unit; The engine unit is connected to the propellant storage unit so as to be located on the opposite side of the propellant storage unit from the side on which the aircraft to be recovered is located when the recovery device is mounted on the aircraft to be recovered. Recovery device.

4. The recovery device according to claim 3, It has landing legs that touch the ground when landing, The landing gear is formed so as to be located on the opposite side of the propellant storage unit from the side on which the aircraft to be recovered is located when the recovery device is mounted on the aircraft to be recovered. Recovery device.

5. The recovery device according to claim 1, The recovery device is equipped with a gas jet on the side for attitude control. The gas jet is used to invert the attitude of the aircraft to be recovered from the attitude at the time of ascent, and thrust is obtained from the engine unit. Recovery device.

6. The recovery device according to claim 5, The recovery device is configured to be capable of detachably mounting a predetermined separation target on an opposite side to a side where the recovery device is coupled to the aircraft to be recovered, The gas jet is configured to perform attitude control after separating the separation target. Recovery device.

7. The aircraft to be recalled, A recovery device mounted on the upper part of the aircraft to be recovered; having The recovery device has an engine unit that burns a supplied propellant to obtain thrust in a predetermined direction, The recovery device is mounted on the upper stage of the aircraft to be recovered so that the engine unit can obtain thrust in a direction opposite to the direction in which the aircraft to be recovered obtains thrust. Flying object.

8. A method for recovering a flying object, comprising the steps of: After separating the target, the flying object is reversed from its ascent position, Use a different engine to the one used for ascent to provide thrust in a direction that slows the descent speed How to recover a projectile.

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