A landing device for a low gravity lander having a main body. The landing device comprises a number of leg-like rods attached to the main body, wherein, in a deployment position of the rods, each of the number of rods is inclined with regard to a plane of a first side surface of the main body such that the rods substantially extend in a direction of movement of the low gravity lander. Furthermore, the number of rods is made such that they bend or buckle under forces within a predetermined range by an impact due to a landing on a landing surface, thereby absorbing an impact momentum.

A space vehicle includes: an aerospike nozzle formed on an aft end of the vehicle; a truncated spike including an outer edge and a surface formed on a rear portion of the truncated spike; and an annular ring outlet formed at the aft end of the vehicle between the outer edge of the truncated spike and an inner edge of the aft end of the space vehicle.

A pair of interconnected vertical solar arrays at two preselected lunar sites are provided. A cable transmits power between one of the vertical solar arrays and the other vertical solar array, so that one of the vertical solar arrays can send collected energy to other vertical solar array, when the other vertical solar array is not collecting energy, to maintain the temperature of the other vertical solar array. A power storage device receives solar energy from the vertical solar arrays. A charging interface distributes energy to one or more lunar devices on the lunar surface. A landing vehicle has a payload thereon for carrying at least one of the pair of interconnected vertical solar arrays, the cable, the power storage device, and the charging interface.

An apparatus includes a body having at least one pitch control system and a mounting system, the mounting system configured to couple to a payload. The apparatus also includes a rocket engine coupled to the body and configured to accelerate the body to a hypersonic speed. The apparatus further includes a control system configured to release the payload while the body moves at the hypersonic speed by commanding the at least one pitch control system to adjust an angle of attack of the body to a negative angle of attack and commanding the mounting system to release the payload while the body is moving at the hypersonic speed and at the negative angle of attack.

A rocket landing stabilization system can include one or more upright support structures such as posts, columns, or walls, from which one or more stabilizing elements can be supported. The stabilizing elements can be used to stabilize a rocket as it lands at a landing site. The rocket landing stabilization system can also include a cradle, funnel, or cone to catch or otherwise support a rocket as it lands at the landing site. The rocket landing stabilization system can be located on land or at sea.

Systems and methods using VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircrafts including drones and helicopters for soft capture, preserving, and landing of a returning spacecraft from space are disclosed. The spacecraft is decelerated by parachutes. One or multiple VTOL drones transport a water impermeable pocket meeting and capturing the descending spacecraft in the air. The spacecraft is thus preserved inside the pocket and keeps descending and then softly lands in a body of water. In another embodiment, a recovery helicopter, one type of VTOL aircraft with heavy payload lifting capacity, is used to directly catch the returning spacecraft. One or multiple VTOL drones are coupled to the bottom end of a recovery cable hung from the helicopter. These drones bring a clutch quickly and precisely catching the descending spacecraft directly without interrupting the parachutes. The spacecraft is thus caught and preserved by the helicopter with lifting function of the parachutes maintained.

A space launch vehicle includes a first section expanding in width from a nose end of a space vehicle to a trailing edge of the first section. A second section narrows in width from a first end adjacent the trailing edge of the first section to a second end distal from the first end. A third section includes a first end adjacent to the second end of the second section and a distal second end, the third section having a substantially continuous width along a length of the third section. A fourth section expands in width from a first end adjacent to the second end of the third section to a tail end of a space vehicle. A fifth section includes a heat shield formed on a tail surface of the space vehicle adjacent to the fourth section.

An apparatuses and method for securing a landed aerospace vehicle/object onto a landing pad includes a use of the magnetic force to couple the landed aerospace vehicle/object with the landing pad. A magnetized base captures and is anchored onto the landing pad. The use of a rocket booster in a high-gravity environment with the ensuring extreme heat exhaust emission considers the use of an exhaust ventilation system.

A landing gear of an aircraft of the present invention, includes a core section with a honeycomb structure, including a plurality of cell walls and a plurality of cell holes defined by the plurality of cell walls; a cover section which covers the core section; and a hole provided in the core section to absorb an impact, the hole having a diameter larger than that of the plurality of cell holes and extending in an extending direction of the plurality of cell holes.

A rocket landing stabilization system can include one or more upright support structures such as posts, columns, or walls, from which one or more stabilizing elements can be supported. The stabilizing elements can be used to stabilize a rocket as it lands at a landing site. The rocket landing stabilization system can also include a cradle, funnel, or cone to catch or otherwise support a rocket as it lands at the landing site. The rocket landing stabilization system can be located on land or at sea.