US 11,926,441 B2
Orbit transition apparatus
Sung Hyuck Im, Daejeon (KR); Jun Seong Lee, Daejeon (KR); Kee Joo Lee, Daejeon (KR); and Jae Sung Park, Daejeon (KR)
Assigned to KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUT, Daejeon (KR)
Filed by KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Daejeon (KR)
Filed on Dec. 20, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/555,848.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2021-0048467 (KR), filed on Apr. 14, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0332441 A1, Oct. 20, 2022
Int. Cl. B64G 1/28 (2006.01); B64G 1/00 (2006.01); B64G 1/10 (2006.01); B64G 1/24 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/285 (2013.01) [B64G 1/002 (2013.01); B64G 1/10 (2013.01); B64G 1/242 (2013.01)] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An orbit transition apparatus that orbits Earth at an initial orbit and that transitions a payload in outer space from the initial orbit to a target orbit around the Earth, the orbit transition apparatus comprising:
a rotating body comprising:
a flywheel center part,
a ring-shaped flywheel peripheral part disposed outside of the flywheel center part,
a connecting part that connects the flywheel center part and the flywheel peripheral part, and
a balancing part on the connecting part and positioned symmetrically to the payload relative to the flywheel center part;
an adapter disposed on the flywheel center part of the rotating body for docking the payload, wherein the adapter is rotatable independently from the flywheel center part in a forward direction and a reverse direction;
a launch module disposed on the flywheel peripheral part of the rotating body for launching the payload; and
a thruster disposed on the flywheel peripheral part for rotating the rotating body,
wherein the payload is conveyed along, via a driver motor, the connecting part of the rotating body from the adapter to the launch module, and wherein the launch module launches the payload to the target orbit using only a rotational force of a rotating body.