Christie, Parker & Hale Obtains an Important Patent for a Burt Rutan Engineered Hybrid Rocket System
PASADENA, Calif. – (Business Wire) Christie, Parker & Hale LLP (CPH) was instrumental in obtaining another major patent for its client Mojave Aerospace Ventures, LLC of Seattle, Washington, and inventor Burt Rutan. U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,145 pertains to a hybrid rocket system where a rocket is secured and mounted to a spacecraft fuselage or associated structure, and to an integrated rocket motor construction with improved reliability and safety.
"Burt Rutan is an aviation innovator. This is one more of his inventions that provides an ingeniously simple solution to a complex problem. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an oxidizer tank is bonded to a spacecraft inner surface by an appropriate adhesive. The adhesive forms the sole support of the rocket system and alleviates the need for separately supporting the motor which is mounted on the oxidizer tank. This single connection to the spacecraft enables easy replacement of the motor, allows for use of motors of different lengths, and reduces the number of possible leak paths. The invention is one of the important technologies that makes SpaceShipOne and its derivatives viable vehicles for commercial space travel," commented Constantine "Gus" Marantidis, the CPH partner who successfully prosecuted the patent and is overseeing the protection of this invention world wide.