초록 ▼

A launch vehicle is deployed from an aircraft using gravity extraction of the launch vehicle with the aid of a small parachute which assists the extraction and damps the yaw and pitch of the launch vehicle. The launch vehicle is supported on two rows of tires which are rotatably mounted to the airc

A launch vehicle is deployed from an aircraft using gravity extraction of the launch vehicle with the aid of a small parachute which assists the extraction and damps the yaw and pitch of the launch vehicle. The launch vehicle is supported on two rows of tires which are rotatably mounted to the aircraft. Gravity and the drag force of the parachute causes the launch vehicle to roll on the tires along the load deck and out of the aircraft. Because the extraction forces are dominated by gravity, the launch vehicle acquires a rotation in the pitch axis as the launch vehicle leaves the aircraft. After the launch vehicle clears the aircraft, the launch vehicle rotates in the pitch plane, and is damped in the pitch plane by the parachute to a pitch attitude which is 70-80�� and the vehicle engine is ignited, detaching the drag parachute.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A method of air dropping an object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, having a first end, a second end, and an external shell therebetween, from a carrier aircraft having an internal storage cargo bay and within the cargo bay having a load deck, and a loading ramp which functions as

We claim: 1. A method of air dropping an object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, having a first end, a second end, and an external shell therebetween, from a carrier aircraft having an internal storage cargo bay and within the cargo bay having a load deck, and a loading ramp which functions as one half of a rearwardly facing cargo door, the method comprising the steps of: mounting the object of at least 50,000 pounds to a first part of a two part carrier on a plurality of sets of wheels mounted to the first part, the plurality of sets of wheels arranged to engage the external shell and arranged in two rows to form a first track; mounting the first part of the two part carrier to the load deck with the object of at least 50,000 pounds mounted thereto, and mounting a second part of the two part carrier to the loading ramp; restraining the object of at least 50,000 pounds on the first part; flying the carrier aircraft to a drop altitude and opening the rearwardly facing cargo door and lowering the loading ramp; pitching up the carrier aircraft and the load deck to which the first part of the two part carrier is mounted, to an angle to the horizontal so that gravity acting on the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight applies an extraction force along a line defined between the object first end and the object second end, said extraction force acting to extract the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight from the carrier aircraft; releasing for movement along the track created by the two rows of wheels, the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight so that the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight begins to exit the aircraft under the influence of gravity; allowing the movement of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over the second part of the two part carrier mounted to the loading ramp, on a second plurality of sets of wheels arranged to engage the external shell and arranged in two rows to form a continuation track; and allowing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight to be discharged from the carrier aircraft to perform an air drop of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight is a launch vehicle and wherein the first end is a payload end, and the second end is an end to which a rocket engine is mounted, and further comprising the steps of: extracting the launch vehicle from the internal storage cargo bay of the carrier aircraft; and assisting the extraction of the launch vehicle by deploying an aerodynamic decelerator behind the carrier aircraft, wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is connected to the end of the vehicle to which the rocket engine is mounted, and wherein the aerodynamic decelerator supplies a deployment force less than the gravity extraction force. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the launch vehicle has a center of gravity, and further comprising the steps of: allowing the launch vehicle to acquire a rotation in the pitch plane by allowing the center of gravity to be unsupported on the carrier aircraft while a portion of the vehicle located between the center of gravity and the payload end of the vehicle is supported on the carrier aircraft. 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of: igniting the launch vehicle engine at a point in time, after the vehicle is extracted from the carrier aircraft wherein the action of the rotation in the pitch plane has brought the payload end, relative to the end to which the engine is mounted, to a pitch angle with respect to the horizontal which is greater than 60�� and wherein the rotation in the pitch plane has been reduced by action of the aerodynamic decelerator to less than 10�� per second. 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the pitch angle is between 70 and 80��. 6. The method of claim 4 wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is separated from the launch vehicle when the launch vehicle engine is ignited. 7. The method of claim 4 wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is connected to the rocket engine and thus end of the vehicle and aerodynamic decelerator is separated from the launch vehicle by action of hot gases produced by igniting the launch vehicle engine. 8. The method of claim 2 further comprising stabilizing the launch vehicle substantially perpendicular to the local air-flow with at least two circumferential spaced apart chines mounted to the launch vehicle. 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of assisting the extraction of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, by deploying an aerodynamic decelerator behind the carrier aircraft, wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is connected to the second end, and wherein the aerodynamic decelerator supplies a deployment force less than the gravity extraction force. 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is separated from the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, after extraction from the aircraft. 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight has a center of gravity, and further comprising the steps of: allowing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight to acquire a rotation in the pitch plane by allowing the center of gravity to be unsupported on the carrier aircraft while a portion of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, located between the center of gravity and the first end of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, is supported on the carrier aircraft. 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of pitching up the load deck to which the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight is mounted, comprises the step of pitching the load deck at an angle between 3-8 degrees with respect to the horizontal. 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight has a cylindrical shell which rides along the first track on the plurality of wheel sets forming the first track, and the cylindrical shell rides along the continuation track on the second plurality of sets of wheels forming the continuation track. 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising stabilizing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, substantially perpendicular to the local air-flow with at least two circumferentially spaced apart chines mounted to the cylindrical shell of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight. 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising stabilizing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, substantially perpendicular to the local air-flow with at least two circumferentially spaced apart chines mounted to the cylindrical shell of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight. 16. The method of claim 1 wherein the carrier aircraft is a C-17 cargo aircraft. 17. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of tipping the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over three final sets of wheels of the second plurality of sets of wheels, which said three final sets of wheels are closest to the rearwardly facing cargo door, and reducing maximum loading on any one of said three final sets of wheels by the use of pneumatic tires for wheels, which pneumatic tires compress to distribute an applied load as the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight passes over the three final sets of wheels, and adjusting each of said three final sets of wheels in height relative to each other to distribute the applied load. 18. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of assisting the extraction of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight by deploying an aerodynamic decelerator behind the carrier aircraft, wherein the aerodynamic decelerator is connected to the second end, and wherein the aerodynamic decelerator supplies a deployment force less than the gravity extraction force. 19. A method of air dropping a object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight from a carrier aircraft having an internal storage cargo bay and within the cargo bay having a load deck, and a loading ramp which functions as one half of a rearwardly facing cargo door, the loading ramp terminating in an end over which cargo is dropped, the method comprising the steps of: allowing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight to be discharged from the carrier aircraft over a plurality of pairs of wheels to perform an air drop of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight by passing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over three last sets of wheels next to the end over which cargo is dropped, wherein both wheels of each set of the three last sets of wheels has the same height and each of the three last sets of wheels are positioned at different heights relative to the load ramp and each other, wherein the at least one different height is more than three eighths of an inch relative to the load ramp so that the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight passes over and rides on the wheels of different heights relative to the load ramp and is air dropped over the terminating end of the load ramp. 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight has a cylindrical form and a first end, a second end, and an external cylindrical shell therebetween, the cylindrical shell defining an axis, and a radial direction perpendicular to the axis and extending from the cylindrical shell to the axis, the method further comprising the steps of: reducing maximum loading on any one of said three final sets of wheels by compressing in response to applied loads, pneumatic tires forming the wheels making up the three final sets of wheels, and compressing said pneumatic tires as the cylindrical object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight is airdropped over the three final sets of wheels, and further distributing the weight of the object over the three final sets of wheels by adjusting each of said three final sets of wheels in height relative to the radial direction and to each other. 21. The method of claim 20 wherein said three final sets of wheels comprise a first set, a second set, and a third set arranged sequentially, with the third set closest to the end over which cargo is dropped, and wherein the first set of wheels of the final three sets of wheels is positioned closer to the axis of the cylindrical shell than the second set, and the second set is positioned closer to the axis of the cylindrical shell than the third set and the object of at least 50,000 pounds passes over the said three final sets of wheels. 22. A method of air dropping an object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, having a first end, a second end, and an external shell therebetween, from a carrier aircraft having an internal storage cargo bay and within the cargo bay having a load deck, and a loading ramp which functions as one half of a rearwardly facing cargo door, the method comprising the steps of: mounting a first part of a two part carrier to the load deck, and mounting a second part of the two part carrier to the loading ramp; mounting the object of at least 50,000 pounds to the first part of the two part carrier on a plurality of sets of wheels mounted to the first part, the plurality of sets of wheels arranged to engage the external shell and arranged in two rows to form a first track; restraining the object of at least 50,000 pounds to the first part; flying the carrier aircraft to a drop altitude and opening the rearwardly facing cargo door and lowering the loading ramp; pitching up the carrier aircraft and the load deck to which the first part of the two part carrier is mounted, to an angle to the horizontal so that gravity acting on the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight applies an extraction force along a line defined between the object first end and the object second end, said extraction force acting to extract the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight from the carrier aircraft; releasing for movement along the track created by the two rows of wheels, the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight so that the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight begins to exit the aircraft under the influence of gravity; allowing the movement of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over the second part of the two part carrier mounted to the loading ramp, on a second plurality of sets of wheels arranged to engage the external shell and arranged in two rows to form a continuation track; allowing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight to be discharged from the carrier aircraft to perform an air drop of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight; and tipping the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over three final sets of wheels of the second plurality of sets of wheels, which said three final sets of wheels are closest to the rearwardly facing cargo door, and reducing maximum loading on any one of said three final sets of wheels by adjusting each of said three final sets of wheels in height relative to each other. 23. A method of air dropping an object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight, having a first end, a second end, and an external cylindrical shell therebetween, from a carrier aircraft having an internal storage cargo bay and within the cargo bay having a load deck, and a loading ramp which functions as one half of a rearwardly facing cargo door, the method comprising the steps of: mounting a first part of a two part carrier to the load deck, and mounting a second part of the two part carrier to the loading ramp; mounting the object of at least 50,000 pounds to the first part of the two part carrier on a plurality of sets of wheels mounted to the first part, the plurality of sets of wheels arranged to engage with the external shell and arranged in a first row and a second row symmetrically located at an angle of about 41 degrees along a circumference of the cylindrical shell on either side of a point on the cylindrical shell closest to the load deck to form a first track which engages, supports and guides the cylindrical shell; restraining the object of at least 50,000 pounds on the first part; flying the carrier aircraft to a drop altitude and opening the rearwardly facing cargo door and lowering the loading ramp; pitching up the carrier aircraft and the load deck to which the first part of the two part carrier is mounted, to an angle to the horizontal so that gravity acting on the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight applies an extraction force along a line defined by the first track, said extraction force acting to extract the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight from the carrier aircraft; releasing for movement along the first track created by the two rows of wheels, the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight so that the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight begins to exit the aircraft under the influence of gravity; allowing the movement of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight over the second part of the two part carrier mounted to the loading ramp, on a second plurality of sets of wheels arranged in a first row and a second row symmetrically located on either side of a point on the cylindrical shell closest to the load deck which engages, supports and guides the cylindrical shell, the second plurality of sets of wheels forming a continuation track; and allowing the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight to be discharged from the carrier aircraft to perform an air drop of the object of at least 50,000 pounds in weight.