A vehicle configured for in-space and atmospheric reentry operations includes a pressure-fed propulsion engine that uses cryogenic fuel and cryogenic oxidizer as propellants. In some embodiments, the vehicle includes a first conduit configured to provide a first propellant to the pressure-fed propulsion engine, a second conduit configured to provide a second propellant to a heat shield heat exchanger disposed relative to a heat shield wall defining an outer surface of the vehicle, and a pump located along the second conduit. In such embodiments, the first conduit is configured to provide the first propellant to the pressure-fed propulsion engine at a first mass flow rate, the second conduit and the pump are configured to provide the second propellant to the heat shield heat exchanger at a second mass flow rate, and the second mass flow rate is substantially less than the first mass flow rate. A related method is also disclosed.

A rocket engine includes a primary chamber and a double contour nozzle attached to the primary chamber. The double contour nozzle includes an inner contour nozzle, an outer contour nozzle, and a transition region between the inner contour nozzle. The inner contour nozzle includes a conical contour. The outer contour nozzle includes a bell contour and at least one propellant injection orifice. The contour break point includes a radius of curvature that is less than 0.75 and a tangency angle that is in a range of from 40 degrees to 90 degrees.

A launch vehicle with a rocket body having a longitudinal axis which has at least one propulsion stage which can be driven by a reaction propulsion system acting predominantly parallel to the longitudinal axis, wherein the launch vehicle is provided with a plurality of rotors which can be driven by means of a respective rotor drive and whose respective rotor axis is aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rocket body, is characterized in that a separate takeoff stage is provided which is coupled or can be coupled to the rocket body and/or the propulsion stage, which is coupled to or can be coupled to and decoupled from the separate takeoff stage, which has the plurality of outer rotors, in that the outer rotors are arranged in the manner of a multi-copter radially outside the rocket body and surrounding the rocket body.

An augmented aerospike nozzle includes a throat, a centerbody extending aft of the throat, an inner expansion surface defined by the centerbody, an outer expansion surface outboard of the inner expansion surface, and an expansion cavity defined between the inner expansion surface and the outer expansion surface. An engine includes a high pressure chamber and the augmented aerospike nozzle. A vehicle for supersonic flight includes the engine with the augmented aerospike nozzle.

A self-contained vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (VTOL) with aspect ratio of height to width no greater than 5.3:1 and with both rocket and airbreathing propulsion systems that can selectively operate one at a time or both at the same time and fuel tanks that have internal lattice structures formed of groups of interconnected multiplicities of fuel cells such as gyroids that line and are integrated with a vehicle skin to form a structural skeleton strengthened with said lattice structures that also serve to reduce fuel slosh compared with fuel tanks lacking such lattice structures and provide other benefits such as fuel temperature profile control.

A reusable upper stage rocket or other atmospheric re-entry vehicle includes a nose, a base opposite the nose, and a propulsion engine toward the base. The propulsion engine includes a high pressure chamber and a nozzle configured to exhaust gas generated by the high pressure chamber. The nozzle includes an initial nozzle portion, a secondary nozzle portion downstream of the initial nozzle portion, and a nozzle exit at a downstream end of the secondary nozzle portion. The secondary nozzle portion includes an inner expansion surface, an outer expansion surface outboard of the inner expansion surface, and an expansion cavity defined between the inner expansion surface and the outer expansion surface.

A nozzle for a vehicle is disclosed. The nozzle includes a plurality of thrust chambers spaced relative to one another. Each thrust chamber has a throat and a nozzle portion extending aft of the throat. The nozzle portion has an exit dimension D.sub.exit at an aft end. Each thrust chamber is spaced away from each adjacent thrust chamber by a respective spacing distance D.sub.space, such that D.sub.spaceM*D.sub.exit, where M1.

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.