An omnidirectional electrostatic thruster having an insulating shell; an inner shell; a charged material; a plurality of pairs of conductive plates; a control unit; and, a power source. The inner shell envelopes the charged material. The insulating shell envelopes the inner shell. The power source provides power to the plurality of pairs of conductive plates through the control unit.

An omnidirectional electrostatic thruster having an insulating shell; an inner shell; a charged material; a plurality of pairs of conductive plates; a control unit; and, a power source. The inner shell envelopes the charged material. The insulating shell envelopes the inner shell. The power source provides power to the plurality of pairs of conductive plates through the control unit.

A de-orbiting system for a space vehicle may include one or more lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries configured to release hot gases to be used for thrusting during de-orbiting of the apparatus. The system may also include one or more heaters surrounding each of the one or more Li-ion batteries, which are configured to send each of the one or more Li-ion batteries into a thermal runaway. The thermal runaway causes the one or more Li-ion batteries to release stored electrochemical energy within each of the one or more Li-ion batteries.

A de-orbiting system for a space vehicle may include one or more lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries configured to release hot gases to be used for thrusting during de-orbiting of the apparatus. The system may also include one or more heaters surrounding each of the one or more Li-ion batteries, which are configured to send each of the one or more Li-ion batteries into a thermal runaway. The thermal runaway causes the one or more Li-ion batteries to release stored electrochemical energy within each of the one or more Li-ion batteries.

A system for controlling an aerospace vehicle by exploiting the dihedral effect to control bank angle of the vehicle by modulating sideslip. The control system includes a closed feedback loop comprising an outer loop for producing a sideslip angle command to induce a roll moment through the dihedral effect to satisfy a bank angle command, and an inner loop for taking the sideslip angle command, and possibly an angle of attack command to produce control input for flightpath hardware controls. Flightpath control hardware include pairs of flaps arranged longitudinally along the leading and trailing edges of an aeroshell of an aerospace entry vehicle to control pitch for changing the angle of attack, and another pair of flaps arranged laterally to control yaw for changing the bank angle via the sideslip angle, and also moving mass along ribs to control pitch and yaw. Thrusters can be fired to induce roll.

A system for controlling an aerospace vehicle by exploiting the dihedral effect to control bank angle of the vehicle by modulating sideslip. The control system includes a closed feedback loop comprising an outer loop for producing a sideslip angle command to induce a roll moment through the dihedral effect to satisfy a bank angle command, and an inner loop for taking the sideslip angle command, and possibly an angle of attack command to produce control input for flightpath hardware controls. Flightpath control hardware include pairs of flaps arranged longitudinally along the leading and trailing edges of an aeroshell of an aerospace entry vehicle to control pitch for changing the angle of attack, and another pair of flaps arranged laterally to control yaw for changing the bank angle via the sideslip angle, and also moving mass along ribs to control pitch and yaw. Thrusters can be fired to induce roll.

Systems and methods for describing, simulating and/or optimizing spaceborne systems and missions. Configurations for spaceborne systems are generated and validated based on simulation output.

A spacecraft capable of re-entry into atmosphere includes an airframe, including a body and one or more wings, and one or more propulsion devices, for example, rocket engines, reaction control thrusters, and jet engines. One or more louver systems are incorporated into the airframe to assist in controlling the aerodynamic profile of the spacecraft. The louver system includes a number of fins rotatable about and axis. An actuator system may rotate the fins in unison or independently of the other fins. A controller may receive information from sensors incorporated into the airframe and send instructions to the actuator system to rotate the fins in response to the sensor information in order to achieve a calculated aerodynamic profile. The spacecraft may also include retractable landing legs. One or more of the wings may be actuated wings.

Systems and methods for transferring, storing, and/or processing materials, such as fuel or propellant, in space, are disclosed. A representative system includes a flexible container that is changeable between a stowed configuration in which the flexible container is contained within a satellite, and a deployed configuration in which the flexible container extends away from the satellite. The system can include a tanker with a storage container to dock with and refuel a satellite. Another representative system includes a controller programmed with instructions that position a spacecraft with a storage container in a first orbit, transfer the spacecraft to a second orbit, dock the spacecraft with a satellite in the second orbit, transfer material between the storage container and the satellite, undock the spacecraft from the satellite, and, optionally, return the spacecraft to the first orbit. An androgynous coupling system with mechanical and fluid connectors facilitates docking and material transfer.

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.