RU82679U1 - LIFTED APPARATUS FOR DELIVERY OF GOODS FROM A MANAGED ORBITAL STATION TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A descent vehicle for delivering goods from an orbital manned station to the Earth's surface, containing a cargo container located in the compartment intended for it, a braking and thermal protection system for providing entry and movement of the descent vehicle in dense layers of the atmosphere, as well as a radio means for detecting it, characterized the fact that it is equipped with a controlled gas source with an executive means for switching on the boost, located in the same compartment as the cargo container, the latter has a rigid nose, on which secures a controlled gas source, while the braking system for providing entry and movement of the descent vehicle in dense atmospheric layers is made in the form of a flexible sealed shell that is tightly attached to the cargo container around the perimeter of its rigid bow, completely covers the cargo container and is a compartment for it placement, while the flexible sealed shell is equipped with flexible thermal protection and is configured to pressurize from a controlled gas source and acquire a spherical shape gas filling. ! 2. The lander according to claim 1, characterized in that the controllable gas source is made in the form of a high-pressure cylinder. ! 3. The lander according to claim 1, characterized in that the controlled gas source is made in the form of a gas generator. ! 4. A descent vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating means for switching on the boost comprises an element for actuating a controlled gas source connected to a time sensor. ! 5. The lander according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating medium

Description

The utility model relates to space technology, namely to means of delivery of cargo from manned orbital stations to the surface of the Earth.

It is known to use the Soyuz series (V.E.Gudilin, L.I.Slabky. Space-rocket systems (History. Development. Prospects), Moscow, 1996 for delivering goods from manned orbital stations to the Earth’s surface by the Soviet Union and Russian manned spacecraft). , chapter 4 [1]), as well as the American shuttle Shuttle (Space Shuttle. In the book: Cosmonautics. Encyclopedia, Moscow, Soviet Encyclopedia, 1985, p.375-376 [2]). In the first case, a returnable container detached from the Soyuz spacecraft delivers the cargo container to the landing area, the main purpose of which is to deliver the crew to Earth. In the second case, the means of cargo delivery is the Shuttle itself, which is simultaneously a descent vehicle. In both of these cases, the delivery of cargo from a space orbital station to Earth is

"associated" operation, carried out simultaneously with a manned flight.

It is also known to use the Progress type automatic transport spacecraft for delivering goods from an orbital station to the Earth's surface. In this case, delivery as such is carried out by a lander landing in the atmosphere, which is detachable from the Progress apparatus — the ballistic return capsule “Rainbow”, and the Progress apparatus itself is withdrawn to the flooding area (RSC Energia Collection named after S.P. Korolev under edited by Yu.P. Semenov, 1996, p.342-345 [3]). At the same time, the Progress spacecraft can pick up only one descent vehicle from the manned orbital station for delivery to Earth - the Rainbow ballistic capsule.

In all the cases described, to ensure the descent vehicle with the cargo container enters the atmosphere, it must be braked to the speed of descent from the orbit at its predetermined point, for which jet nozzles of the propulsion system of the transport spacecraft are used — respectively, the Soyuz spacecraft, Shuttle shuttle or apparatus "Progress", taking away from a manned orbital station for delivery to the Earth ballistic capsule "Rainbow".

Using the described means of delivering goods from manned orbital stations to the Earth's surface is extremely expensive. For this reason, the delivery of goods to the Earth’s surface is carried out with their help, not as an independent operation, but only as the second phase of a more complex operation, including the delivery of crew and cargo as the first phase

(or only cargo - when using the Progress apparatus) from the surface of the Earth to a manned orbital station. With this in mind, Soyuz, Shuttle and Progress vehicles (the latter together with the Rainbow) cannot even be considered as specialized means of delivering cargo from a manned orbital station to the surface of the Earth. Such, in fact, is only the Rainbow spacecraft, but it cannot deliver cargo to the Earth’s surface on its own, since its descent from the orbit of the manned station begins as part of the Progress spacecraft. It is also obvious that neither the Soyuz, nor the Shuttle, nor the Rainbow, used only in conjunction with Progress, are suitable for delivering cargo from a manned orbital station to the surface of the Earth expeditiously, i.e. at the time when this arose.

Closest to the proposed device is a descent vehicle of the type "Rainbow" [3]. This apparatus contains a detachable case with a heat-protective coating on the bow and cylindrical parts. The housing has a compartment in which the containers for the returned cargo are placed, a brake parachute system for lowering in the atmosphere located in the compartment intended for it, and means for electronic and visual detection in the form of direction finding and flashing beacons.

The technical solution for the proposed utility model is aimed at obtaining a technical result, which consists in ensuring high speed of cargo delivery from the orbital manned station to the Earth’s surface while

reduction of material costs necessary for such delivery.

The proposed lander for delivering goods from an orbital manned station to the Earth’s surface, as well as the closest known Rainbow apparatus [3], contains a cargo container located in the compartment intended for it, a braking and thermal protection system for providing entry and movement of the lander apparatus in dense layers of the atmosphere, as well as radio equipment for its detection.

To achieve the above technical result, the proposed lander, in contrast to the closest known to it, is equipped with a controlled gas source located in the same compartment as the cargo container. The latter has a rigid nose, on which a gas source is fixed. In this case, the braking and thermal protection system for providing entry and movement of the descent vehicle in dense layers of the atmosphere is made in the form of a flexible sealed shell with flexible thermal protection. The shell is tightly attached to the cargo container around the perimeter of its rigid bow, completely covers the cargo container and is a compartment for its placement. This shell is made with the possibility of pressurization from the specified controlled gas source and acquiring a spherical shape when filling with gas. In addition, the descent vehicle contains actuating means for activating boost, located in the same compartment as the cargo container.

The controlled gas source may be, in particular, a high pressure cylinder or a gas generator. The specified executive tool may contain an element for bringing

into the action of a controlled gas source connected to a time sensor or means for receiving a radio command transmitted from an orbital station.

The implementation of the descent vehicle with a flexible sealed shell, forming a compartment for accommodating a cargo container, allows you to have the required number of such devices on the orbital station due to the insignificance of their mass and volume, which they occupy in the state prior to boosting. The flexibility of the shell and its thermal protection makes it possible to lay the shell in an idle state in a compact volume. At the same time, the execution of the shell with the possibility of pressurization due to the presence of a controlled gas source and means for switching on the pressurization ensures the large size of this shell in the gas-filled state and fulfills its role as a braking system for the descent vehicle only by using aerodynamic force, i.e. passively, without the use of any engines or parachute system, at all stages of descent, including both descent from orbit and a decrease in dense layers of the atmosphere. This allows you to plan the descent of cargo to Earth and to carry out it quickly, i.e. completely regardless of the flight time to the orbital station of manned or automatic return vehicles having a propulsion system. The incomparability of material costs when using the proposed device is also obvious in comparison with the delivery of goods to Earth using such returnable vehicles as Soyuz, Progress + Rainbow or Shuttle. The implementation of a flexible sealed shell with the possibility of acquiring a spherical shape provides self-orientation in

flow in only one direction and a steady flight to the very surface of the Earth. This is achieved due to the aerodynamic properties of the descent vehicle, the center of mass of which is shifted forward relative to the direction of flight relative to the geometric center of the sphere, since the flexible shell is attached to the rigid nose of the cargo container placed inside it around the entire perimeter of this part. In the case of landing of a descent vehicle on a water surface, an inflated airtight shell ensures its buoyancy (unsinkability), which indicates the salvage of the cargo and in these conditions of landing of the device.

The presence of a controlled gas source and actuating means for switching on boost provides the necessary logic for the descent vehicle. The placement of these funds in the same compartment as the cargo container ensures their functioning in a rarefied atmosphere, in which the initial stage of the descent vehicle moves. The heat resistance of a sealed shell with flexible thermal protection ensures the safety of both this shell itself and the parts of the apparatus and cargo enclosed within the hermetic compartment formed by it under the influence of high temperature that occurs when the apparatus leaves orbit and further decreases. At the same time, the smooth braking character taking into account the above-described features of a purely aerodynamic descent from orbit allows one to obtain relatively low heating temperatures and thereby facilitate the selection of suitable materials for the manufacture of the shell and its thermal protection.

Particular cases of the execution of a controlled gas source in the form of a high-pressure balloon or gas generator, and actuating means for switching on the boost, in the form of an element for actuating a controlled gas source connected to a time sensor or to means for receiving a radio command transmitted from an orbital station, are equivalent from the point of view of achieving the above technical result and provide additional freedom of choice when designing the descent vehicle.

The utility model is illustrated by drawings:

- figure 1 shows the design of the proposed descent vehicle with a sealed shell in a state when it is filled with gas;

- figure 2 - the nature of the change in height and speed along the braking path of the descent vehicle;

- figure 3 - calculated dependences of the maximum temperature of the sealed shell of the descent vehicle on its size and mass of the device with a load when braking in the atmosphere;

- figure 4 - the calculated dependence of the landing speed on the Earth's surface of the descent vehicle with a load on its mass and size.

The proposed inflatable descent vehicle, shown in figure 1, contains a cargo container 1 with a rigid nose 5, located inside the sealed compartment 2. The latter is formed by a flexible heat-resistant shell 3, which is attached to the rigid nose 5 of the compartment 2 around its perimeter

with seal 4. A flexible, sealed, heat-resistant shell on the inside is made of a gas-tight material (for example, a polyimide film or rubberized fabric used in airship building), and on the outside has a multilayer flexible thermal protection (for example, from layers of silica fabric impregnated with a sublimating substance from family of polymer organosilicon compounds).

In the sealed compartment 2 there is also a controlled gas source 6 mounted on the inside of the rigid nose 5. The gas source 6 can be a high-pressure tank or a gas generator, for example, in the form of a powder checker. In addition, in compartment 2 there are radio means 7 for detecting the descent vehicle by ground-based means and actuating means 8 for switching on boost, connected to a controlled gas source 6. The actuating means 8 comprises an element 9 for actuating a controlled gas source 6 (for example, an exhaust valve of a high pressure cylinder or an ignition device for the powder checkers of a gas generator) connected to an element 10, which is a time sensor or means for receiving a radio command transmitted from an orbital station.

The proposed lander is used and operates as follows.

When it becomes necessary to send cargo to the Earth's surface (experimental results, media of captured information and other materials), the crew of the orbital station put it in cargo container 1 and attach it

a flexible shell 3 with a seal 4 to the rigid nose 5 of the container 1 around its entire perimeter. The airtight compartment 2 of the descent apparatus formed in this case is limited by the flexible shell 3 and the nose 5 of the cargo container 1. Therefore, the cargo container 1 is located inside the airtight compartment 2, i.e. flexible shell 3 completely covers the cargo container (as well as a controlled gas source 6 with actuating means 8 for switching on boost and radio means 7 for detecting the descent vehicle by ground means). At this stage, the flexible shell 3 is folded into a compact volume.

Next, the descent vehicle with an airtight shell 3 and flexible thermal protection, folded into a compact volume, is installed in the airlock of the orbital station, from where the descent module is separated from the orbital station using a mechanical pusher of the airlock.

In this case, the descent vehicle with the cargo container initially moves in almost the same orbit as the orbital station.

After the descent vehicle departs from the orbital station, gas is supplied into the airtight compartment 2, which is safe for the shell 3 to open, from a controlled source 6. The gas supply can be started by the executive means 8 for switching on the boost, on command from element 10 (FIG. 1), supplied to element 9 (exhaust valve of the high pressure cylinder or initiator of ignition of the powder checker of the gas generator) to actuate a controlled gas source. If element 10 is a time sensor, then the command is issued

after a fixed period of time after the descent vehicle departs from the orbital station. If element 10 is a means for receiving a radio command transmitted from an orbital station, then the moment of formation of the command is determined at the orbital station by its crew or automatic means of the station. As a result of pressurization, the casing 3 is expanded and takes the spherical shape shown in FIG. 1.

The braking of the descent vehicle with the container begins due to the aerodynamic force arising from the flow of the gas-filled flexible shell 3 with the rarefied (high-altitude) atmosphere gas at the very early stage of descent, i.e. immediately after separation from the station and pressurization of the shell. This force is small and depends on the size of the descent vehicle, determined by the size of the pressurized compartment 2, formed by a flexible shell filled with gas 3. The orbit of the descent vehicle under the action of this force evolves, i.e. periodically change in time the speed V of the movement (line 11 in figure 2) and the height H (line 12, ibid.). The braking of the descent vehicle in the case shown in FIG. 2 begins with the initial height of its orbit equal to the orbit height of the orbital station of 400 km.

In this case, the descent vehicle is self-oriented in the incident gas flow of the atmosphere by the rigid part 5 of the cargo container 1 forward due to the front location of the center of gravity relative to the center of the gas-filled shell 3, and this balancing remains the only one under all flow regimes (free molecular, laminar, turbulent) and for

any speed in the range from hypersonic to low subsonic.

The duration of the descent of the goods according to the proposed method depends on the size of the descent vehicle and its weight with cargo and can range from several hours to several days.

From figure 2 it follows that the evolutionary time of the orbit of the descent vehicle of a spherical shape with a diameter of 20 m and a mass of 400 kg is approximately 62 hours (about 2.6 days). In this case, the apparatus, before entering the dense atmosphere at an altitude of 100 km, makes 40 orbits around the Earth.

Thus, the descent vehicle makes revolutions around the Earth for a long time, gradually decreasing due to aerodynamic drag and acquiring the appropriate speed to enter a dense atmosphere. After complete pressurization of the pressurized compartment, ground-based observation devices detect and track the movement of the descent vehicle by the signals of its radio means 7 at several time-spaced points of its trajectory. In this case, the parameters of the orbital motion of the descent vehicle are determined and the coordinates of the expected point and the time of the vehicle’s entry into the dense atmosphere (at an altitude of about 100 km) and the corresponding landing point of the descent vehicle on the Earth’s surface are calculated using this information. The early determination of the landing point of the apparatus makes it possible to prepare and send to the landing area an expedition that searches and evacuates cargo to its destination.

During braking, the heat-shielding surface and the flexible heat-resistant shell 3 of the descent vehicle are heated under the influence of a high-speed counter flow of both rarefied and then dense atmospheric gas. The calculation results of the heat-shielding surface that is being realized in this case, depending on the radius R of the shell 3, show that when braking the descent vehicle of a spherical shape and, for example, weighing 400 kg, the equilibrium temperature T _{p of} the heat-shielding surface of the shell 3 of the descent apparatus does not exceed 600 ° C, if the diameter of the sphere (2R) is 20 m, and 320 ° C for an apparatus with a diameter of 60 m (see Fig. 3; lines 13, 14 and 15 correspond to the mass of the apparatus 200, 300 and 400 kg).

Figure 4 presents the results of calculations of the dependence of the landing speed V _p on the size of the inflatable sealed compartment of a spherical shape from an orbital station located at an altitude of 400 km (R is the radius of the sphere, lines 16, 17 and 18 correspond to the mass of the apparatus 200, 300 and 400 kg) . From these results it follows that the speed of landing on the Earth's surface of such descent vehicles is from 2 to 7 m / s, which is quite acceptable for saving cargo when it hits the surface.

Thus, on the one hand, the use of passive aerodynamic braking in the proposed method for delivering cargo from a manned orbital station at the initial stage of launching the cargo and then up to its landing on the Earth’s surface eliminates the need to use expensive reactive orientation and braking systems, and, on the other hand , provides the possibility of prompt delivery

cargo from orbit at any time in the absence of special transport vehicles docked to the orbital station.

Information sources

1. V.E. Gudilin, L.I. Slabky. Space-rocket systems (History. Development. Prospects), Moscow, 1996, chapter 4.

2. Space Shuttle. In the book: "Cosmonautics. Encyclopedia", Moscow, "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1985, p. 375-376.

3. Collection of RSC Energia named after S.P. Koroleva edited by Yu.P. Semenov, 1996, p.342-345.

Claims (5)

1. A descent vehicle for delivering goods from an orbital manned station to the Earth's surface, containing a cargo container located in the compartment intended for it, a braking and thermal protection system for providing entry and movement of the descent vehicle in dense layers of the atmosphere, as well as a radio means for detecting it, characterized the fact that it is equipped with a controlled gas source with an executive means for switching on the boost, located in the same compartment as the cargo container, the latter has a rigid nose, on which secures a controlled gas source, while the braking system for providing entry and movement of the descent vehicle in dense atmospheric layers is made in the form of a flexible sealed shell that is tightly attached to the cargo container around the perimeter of its rigid bow, completely covers the cargo container and is a compartment for it placement, while the flexible sealed shell is equipped with flexible thermal protection and is configured to pressurize from a controlled gas source and acquire a spherical shape gas filling. 2. The lander according to claim 1, characterized in that the controllable gas source is made in the form of a high-pressure cylinder. 3. The lander according to claim 1, characterized in that the controlled gas source is made in the form of a gas generator. 4. A descent vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating means for switching on the boost comprises an element for actuating a controlled gas source connected to a time sensor. 5. A descent vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating means for turning on the boost comprises an element for actuating a controlled gas source connected to means for receiving a radio command transmitted from an orbital station.