Control surfaces for use with high speed vehicles, and associated systems and methods

摘要

Vehicles with control surfaces and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a rocket can include a plurality of bidirectional control surfaces positioned toward an aft portion of the rocket. In this embodiment, the bidirectional control surfaces can be operable to control the orientation and/or flight path of the rocket during both ascent, in a nose-first orientation, and descent, in a tail-first orientation for, e.g., a tail-down landing. Launch vehicles with fixed and deployable deceleration surfaces and associated systems and methods are also disclosed.

主权项

1. An aerospace system, comprising:
a space launch vehicle having an upper end, a lower end, a vehicle axis extending between the upper and lower ends, and one or more rocket nozzles positioned toward the lower end, wherein the launch vehicle is configured to implement a routine that includes:
directing thrust from at least one of the one or more rocket nozzles to lift the launch vehicle during launch, the upper end being above the lower end during launch;subsequent to launch, descending and landing with the lower end below the upper end; andduring descent, shifting a center of pressure of the launch vehicle from a first position below a center of gravity of the vehicle to a second position above the center of gravity by moving a control surface, wherein the control surface includes a translating element, and wherein shifting the center of pressure of the vehicle includes moving the translating element between a lower position toward the lower end of the vehicle and an upper position toward the upper end of the vehicle.