Aeronautics and astronautics – Spacecraft – With fuel system details
Patent
1988-12-16
1993-11-23
Peters, Jr., Joseph F.
Aeronautics and astronautics
Spacecraft
With fuel system details
244169, 244 62, B64G 140
Patent
active
052636666
ABSTRACT:
A spacecraft includes bipropellant and monopropellant engines or thrusters. The oxidizer-fuel mixture ratio of the bipropellant engine is not known exactly. The spacecraft is loaded with only sufficient oxidizer to achieve the velocity for transfer from an intermediate orbit to geosynchronous orbit if the mixture ratio is nominal. Therefore, more fuel can be loaded. If the bipropellant engine burn is nominal, there is no excess oxidizer when on-orbit and more fuel is available for stationkeeping. If the burn is oxidizer-rich, there is a velocity shortfall, which is made up by firing monopropellant engines. If the burn is oxidizer-lean, the geosynchronous orbit is achieved with a load of excess oxidizer, which must be moved during each stationkeeping maneuver. A net gain of stationkeeping time results in any of the three mixture ratio cases by comparison with loading of sufficient oxidizer for a full bipropellant burn under worst-case mixture conditions.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3231223 (1966-01-01), Upper
patent: 3807657 (1974-04-01), Brill
patent: 3923188 (1975-12-01), Lake, Jr.
patent: 4741502 (1988-05-01), Rosen
patent: 4787579 (1988-11-01), Smith
Davies Keith
Hubert Susan M.
Berard C. A.
Ellis Christopher P.
General Electric Co.
Meise W. H.
Peters Jr. Joseph F.
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