A pressure vessel containing a main body with at least one opening. The pressure vessel is made from a BMG material. The pressure vessel may contain an additional part such as a neck, a liner, a rib, a lattice, a fin, and a diaphragm. The pressure vessel may be free of a welded joint in entirety. The pressure vessel may contain multiple parts in the main body, each of which is free of a welded joint. The pressure vessel may be made through thermoplastic forming.

To manage propellant in a spacecraft, the method of this disclosure includes storing propellant in a tank as a mixture of liquid and gas; transferring the propellant out of the tank; converting the mixture of liquid and gas propellant into a single phase, where the single phase is either liquid or gaseous; and supplying the single phase of the propellant to a thruster.

The invention provides improvements on thermal performance of multilayer insulation for hot and cold feedlines. Insulation on feedlines has always been problematic, and can perform ten times worse than tank insulation contributing as much as 80% of total system heat leak. The poor performance of traditional MLI wrapped on feed lines is due to compression of the layers, causing increased interlayer contact and heat conduction. The MLI performance is not only much worse than expected, but also difficult to predict. Spacer structures are presented which provide a well-defined, accurately characterized support between the thermal radiant barriers in a multilayer insulation. The invention provides a robust, structural insulation that is much less sensitive to wrap compression and installation workmanship allowing for more predictable, higher performance insulation structure.

The present invention is directed toward a new and improved solenoid-controlled, liquid cryogenic-hydraulically actuated valve assembly wherein, in addition to the valve assembly controlling the flow of liquid cryogenic fluid therethrough, a portion of the liquid cryogenic fluid is effectively utilized to hydraulically actuate and control OPEN and CLOSED valves to predetermined positions such that the flow of cryogenic fluid, through the valve assembly from an inlet flange to an outlet flange of the valve assembly, is permitted or prevented.

Various embodiments of space launch vehicle systems and associated methods of manufacture and use are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the systems include a reusable, horizontal takeoff/horizontal landing (HTHL), ground-assisted single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane that is capable of providing frequent deliveries of people and/or cargo to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). In some embodiments, the spaceplane can takeoff with the aid of a rocket-powered sled that, in addition to providing additional thrust for takeoff, can also provide propellant for the spaceplane engines during the takeoff run so that the spaceplane launches with full propellant tanks.

A rigid structure propellant management device (PMD) liquid storage tank includes an outer shell and internal structures inside the outer shell that include a plurality of vertical columns each made up of a stack of individual storage cells. Each of the storage cells has solid vertical sidewalls and top and bottom capillary windows that allow vertical liquid transfer between adjacent cells in a vertical column. The top and bottom capillary windows in each of the storage cells have permeabilities that result in a selected direction of liquid flow in each column. A piping and valve system may be connected to the top capillary window of a top storage cell and to the bottom capillary window of a bottom storage cell of each vertical column, configured to allow controlled liquid transfer between adjacent vertical columns so that locations of empty cells in the tank as liquid is drawn from the tank achieves a selected column by column drainage sequence and controls a center of mass of the tank.

A system and method for protecting a lightweight pressure vessel capable of airborne and underwater use. The system includes an enclosure and a gas container that is capable of holding pressurized or liquefied gas in sufficient quantity to increase internal pressure of the pressure vessel, so that the internal pressure of the pressure vessel equals an external pressure of the pressure vessel. The system also includes a pressure relief device coupled to the enclosure. The pressure relief device is configured to release the pressurized or liquefied gas from the pressure vessel when the internal pressure exceeds the external pressure by a predetermined amount. The system also includes a gas supply mechanism coupled to the gas container, the gas supply mechanism being configured to allow gas from the gas container into order to increase the internal pressure of the pressure vessel until the internal pressure equals the external pressure.

To provide a propellant tank such as a fuel tank and an oxidant tank for a spacecraft, the propellant tank discharging propellant such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen accumulated therein toward a rocket engine by pressurizing an inside thereof by operating gas. The propellant tank includes a tank body that accumulates therein the propellant in a liquid state, and a holding container that is provided inside the tank body and disposed with a predetermined gap from an inner wall of the tank body, so that the propellant in a liquid state can be held therein, when the inside of the tank body is in a microgravity state or a zero-gravity state.

A grid stiffened structure which includes a wall which extends in a direction transverse relative to a plane and an elongated rib connected along an elongated dimension of the rib to the wall such that the elongated rib extends along the wall and forms an angle with an axis which extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane. The elongated rib defines a free sidewall which extends from the wall positioned on a first side of the elongated rib and extends in a direction about the elongated rib and transverse to the elongated dimension to the wall positioned on a second side of the elongated rib. The wall and the elongated rib are constructed of a plurality of layers of material which extend in a direction transverse to the axis.

The invention relates to a container for receiving, storing, and dispensing liquids and/or viscous substances, in particular fuel, propellant, or drinking water, comprising a casing (12) with a microscopic surface structure (16) that is integrally formed on at least some parts of the casing (10) and comprises at least one approximately groove- and/or channel-shaped capillary (20) which is arranged in an interior (14) of the container (10) on the inner face (18) of the casing (12) such that an end (22) of the capillary faces an outlet opening (24) of the container (10), which extends into a region (24) that is adjacent to or borders the outlet opening (24) of the container (10), and which is made of two lateral walls (26) that are paired together and run together for conveying the liquid and/or the viscous substance within the capillary (20) to the outlet opening (24) of the container (10). The invention also relates to a method for producing the container and to the use thereof.