Vehicles with control surfaces and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a rocket can include a plurality of bidirectional control surfaces positioned toward an aft portion of the rocket. In this embodiment, the bidirectional control surfaces can be operable to control the orientation and/or flight path of the rocket during both ascent, in a nose-first orientation, and descent, in a tail-first orientation for, e.g., a tail-down landing. Launch vehicles with fixed and deployable deceleration surfaces and associated systems and methods are also disclosed.

Space vehicles with paraglider re-entry, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. A representative system includes a re-useable space vehicle, a collapsible, deployable and re-stowable re-entry heat shield carried by the space vehicle, and a collapsible, deployable and re-stowable flexible paraglider wing also carried by the space vehicle. The space vehicle can accordingly carry out repeated space-based missions, and can be refurbished and replenished on Earth and/or at an orbiting dock between missions.

This application describes creating, modifying, and bending electromagnetic solitons at large scales for the various applications. An electromagnetic soliton generator system controls the magnetic soliton such that the orientation, rotation rate, pitch angle, and magnetic field strength of the solitons are modified to provide the described standing waves and generate a magnetic flux differential.

An electrospray thruster including an emitter, an extractor, a propellant storage vessel for a primary liquid propellant, a propellant delivery pathway from the vessel to the emitter, and an ionic liquid. The ionic liquid is configured to have a solid phase at temperatures less than a predetermined temperature and a liquid phase at temperatures greater than the predetermined temperature, and the ionic liquid is configured to create a propellant isolation barrier in the solid phase to prevent absorption by the primary liquid propellant. The electrospray thruster also includes a heater associated with the vessel and configured to heat the ionic liquid to above the predetermined temperature for mixing with the primary liquid propellant.

A representative spacecraft system includes a launch vehicle elongated along a launch vehicle axis and having at least one stage carrying a corresponding rocket engine. The representative system further includes an annular support structure carried by the at least one stage and positioned to support a cargo spacecraft having a service module and a cargo module. The cargo module of the cargo spacecraft is positioned along the launch vehicle axis in a direction distal from the support structure, and at least a portion of the service module of the cargo spacecraft positioned within an annulus of the support structure

A satellite thruster increases satellite efficiency. The Linear Actuated μCAT has a stepper motor to move the ablative electrode forward. A LabVIEW program and Arduino microcontroller are used to analyze the Linear Actuated μCAT to determine how many steps are required for re-ignition, arc current, and the validity of the feed system. Results from testing show that micro-stepping the stepper motor is an effective way to replenish the cannibalized electrode for propellant.

A system and methods are provided for combining systems of an upper stage space launch vehicle for enhancing the operation of the space vehicle. Hydrogen and oxygen already on board as propellant for the upper stage rockets is also used for other upper stage functions to include propellant tank pressurization, attitude control, vehicle settling, and electrical requirements. Specifically, gases from the propellant tanks, instead of being dumped overboard, are used as fuel and oxidizer to power an internal combustion engine that produces mechanical power for driving other elements including a starter/generator for generation of electrical current, mechanical power for fluid pumps, and other uses. The exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine is also used directly in one or more vehicle settling thrusters. Accumulators which store the waste ullage gases are pressurized and provide pressurization control for the propellant tanks. The system is constructed in a modular configuration in which two redundant integrated fluid modules may be mounted to the vehicle, each of the modules capable of supporting the upper stage functions.

A vehicle including a sealed container, a propulsion system with an intake and an exhaust affixed to an interior of the sealed container, an exhaust stream emitted from the exhaust, a thrust corridor within the sealed configured to channel the exhaust stream, and a return corridor configured to channel an intake stream into the intake of the propulsion system wherein the exhaust stream transforms into the intake stream after traveling a sufficient distance within the sealed container and the exhaust stream and intake stream generate a pressure differential within the sealed container wherein the pressure differential is sufficient to result in a movement of the vehicle relative to the vehicle's surroundings.

Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.

Spacecraft servicing devices or pods and related methods may include a body configured to be deployed from a host spacecraft at a location adjacent a target spacecraft and at least one spacecraft servicing component configured to perform at least one servicing operation on the target spacecraft.