Patent ID: 11970997
Assignee: UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE, L.L.C.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  B | IPC B  F

Claim 13:
14. A system for controlling the enthalpy of a gas fluid associated with an upper stage of a launch vehicle, comprising:
a tank storing the gas fluid, and a gas line extending from the tank to receive the gas fluid;
a thruster, wherein at least some of the gas fluid is configured to be transferred to the thruster to move the upper stage;
an internal combustion engine (ICE) associated with the gas line, wherein at least some of the gas fluid is configured to be transferred to the ICE for operation of the ICE, and wherein an output shaft of the ICE is configured to charge a battery; and
a coolant conduit having a coolant fluid, wherein the coolant fluid is configured to receive heat generated by the discharge of current from the battery, and the gas fluid transferred to the ICE is configured to receive heat from the coolant fluid.