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Assured crew return vehicle

  • US 5,064,151 A
  • Filed: 12/28/1989
  • Issued: 11/12/1991
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for safely and economically returning a human crew to earth from an earth orbiting craft, using a return vehicle attached to the orbiting craft and specially adapted for such use, comprising the steps;

  • a) entering the return vehicle from the orbiting craft;

    b) starting individual crew breathing air supply;

    c) activating automatic controls of the return vehicle;

    d) initializing an inertial measuring unit aboard the return vehicle using state vector and attitude data obtained from the orbiting craft;

    e) releasing the return vehicle from the orbiting craft;

    f) updating periodically return vehicle state vectors and attitude using only onboard data;

    g) initiating automatically a reaction control system to maneuver the return vehicle away from the orbiting craft to preclude recontact between the return vehicle and the orbiting craft;

    h) entering crew weight into return vehicle computer;

    i) selecting manually one of a number of predetermined landing sites on the surface of the earth as a landing target;

    j) establishing automatically a return vehicle pre- burn attitude;

    k) calculating automatically a deorbit burn initiation time;

    l) firing automatically a deorbit thruster;

    m) maintaining automatically the proper return vehicle attitude throughout deorbit burn;

    n) terminating deorbit burn after elapse of appropriate time interval to effect desired ballistic trajectory for placing the return vehicle on the surface of the earth near the selected landing site;

    o) jettisoning the deorbit thruster;

    p) maneuvering the return vehicle automatically to ensure return vehicle trajectory and deorbit thruster trajectory do not intersect;

    q) establishing and maintaining automatically return vehicle entry attitude;

    r) initiating return vehicle roll rate; and

    s) deploying parachutes for decelerating return vehicle to acceptable impact velocity.

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