ROCKET LAUNCH COMPLEX Russian patent published in 2008 - IPC B64G5/00 

FIELD: transport, space engineering.

SUBSTANCE: proposed rocket launch complex comprises a pit with its bottom furnished with a launch ledge for the boost unit to be mounted thereon. The aforesaid unit is designed to accelerate the rocket in the said pit. Right below the said ledge gets transformed into a gas vent. The pit walls accommodate the guide ways with toothed props attached between the said guide ways. The pit center and lower part walls have a multi-stage recesses housing the braking plates. The braking plate end face side facing the pit makes, with the wall plane, an acute angle directed upward in the pit top and downward in the pit bottom. The weight of the braking plates increases from bottom to top for the pit top plates and from top to bottom for the pit bottom. The braking and guiding rolls with cylindrical smooth parts and rings gears in mesh with the pit toothed pros are arranged all along the boost unit edges. The boost unit top part is furnished with a circular flange to carry the rocket, the unit angles being provided with the masts to support the said rocket, the mast bases being hinged to the boost unit. The boost unit bottom part has rocket engines fastened thereto to accelerate the rocket in the pit to approximately 200 m/s, then the rocket engines are cut in. The boost unit, on interacting with the braking plates, gets decelerated and stopped at the pit top, then it returns back onto the launch ledge. The proposed complex allows launching the rockets with the launch thrust being equal to their launching weight.

EFFECT: increased payload placed into orbit relative to the rocket launching mass.

10 dwg