Lightweight structural battery use in laser rocket
View Patent ↗To use lightweight structural batteries to hold the electricity needed to provide the ability to heat the burners within the pressure chamber of the rocket during the second stage of flight. This would increase the thrusting power of the rocket as it ascends toward, and then into lower earth orbit.
1 . A laser assisted steam energized rocket comprising:
a fuel tank to store a liquid high-test hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel;
a plurality of fuel pumps and a plurality of fuel injectors, wherein the plurality of fuel pumps are configured to pump the liquid high-test hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel from the fuel tank to the plurality of fuel injectors;
a pressure chamber arranged to receive the liquid high-test hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel from the fuel injectors;
a plurality of manganese dioxide catalysts arranged annularly about a top portion of the pressure chamber, wherein the plurality of manganese dioxide catalysts receive the liquid high-test hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel from the plurality of fuel injectors and convert the liquid high-test hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel to high pressure steam and oxygen without using combustion;
a plurality of electrical burners located downstream of the plurality of manganese dioxide catalysts, wherein the plurality of electrical burners are suspended within the pressure chamber to increase the temperature of the high-pressure steam within the pressure chamber;
a plurality of de Laval shaped exhaust nozzles receiving the high-pressure steam from the pressure chamber and providing thrust to the laser assisted steam energized rocket; and
a casing comprising:
an inner carbon fiber skin;
a structural battery that is electrically connected to the plurality of electrical burners; and
an outer carbon fiber skin;
wherein the structural battery is embedded between the inner carbon fiber skin and the outer carbon fiber skin such that positive ion electrodes are positioned on the inner carbon fiber skin and negative ion electrodes are positioned on the outer carbon fiber skin, and
wherein the structural battery extends along the length of the laser assisted steam energized rocket from the fuel tank to the pressure chamber such that the structural battery surrounds the fuel tank, the plurality of fuel pumps, the plurality of fuel injectors, and the pressure chamber.
2 . The laser assisted steam energized rocket according to claim 1 , wherein the structural battery is configured to provide electricity to heat the plurality of electrical burners within the pressure chamber at an end of a first stage of flight of the laser assisted steam energized rocket such that electricity provided by the structural battery assists in increasing the pressure of the steam within the pressure chamber to approximately 800° F. so that the thrust is increased during a second stage of flight of the laser assisted steam energized rocket.