Sean R Findlay

US Patent:

20110017872, Jan 27, 2011

Filed:

Jun 14, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/815306

Inventors:

Jeffrey P. Bezos - Greater Seattle WA, US
Gary Lai - Seattle WA, US
Sean R. Findlay - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Blue Origin, LLC - Kent WA

International Classification:

B64G 1/00

US Classification:

2441589

Abstract:

Launch vehicle systems and methods for landing and recovering a booster stage and/or other portions thereof on a platform at sea or on another body of water are disclosed. In one embodiment, a reusable space launch vehicle is launched from a coastal launch site in a trajectory over water. After booster engine cutoff and upper stage separation, the booster stage reenters the earth's atmosphere in a tail-first orientation. The booster engines are then restarted and the booster stage performs a vertical powered landing on the deck of a pre-positioned sea-going platform. In one embodiment, bidirectional aerodynamic control surfaces control the trajectory of the booster stage as it glides through the earth's atmosphere toward the sea-going platform. The sea-going platform can broadcast its real-time position to the booster stage so that the booster stage can compensate for errors in the position of the sea-going platform due to current drift and/or other factors. After landing, the sea-going platform can be towed by, e.g., a tug, or it can use its own propulsion system, to transport the booster stage back to the coastal launch site or other site for reconditioning and reuse. In another embodiment, the booster stage can be transferred to another vessel for transport. In still further embodiments, the booster can be refurbished while in transit from a sea-based or other landing site.

US Patent:

20180178930, Jun 28, 2018

Filed:

Dec 27, 2017

Appl. No.:

15/855968

Inventors:

- Kent WA, US
Sean Robert Findlay - Mercer Island WA, US
John Michael Sanders - Sammamish WA, US

International Classification:

B64G 1/62
B64G 1/40

Abstract:

Methods and systems for vertically landing space vehicles are described herein. In one embodiment, a reusable space vehicle lands in a vertical, nose-up orientation by engaging a system of cables suspended from an elevated framework during a controlled descent.