Patent ID: 8668168

Claim:
A spacecraft valve system comprising: an outer shell of a spacecraft which is visible and exposed to the ambient air; wherein said spacecraft outer shell is structurally modified to include at least one mounting aperture, over which all components of at least one peaked valve are mounted to commune with environment external to said outer shell; wherein said spacecraft outer shell is adapted to withstand widely varying external pressures due to flight and atmospheric conditions; an internal cavity within an interior of said spacecraft outer shell having a controlled internal pressure and a controlled purge gas flow rate; a purge gas stream which flows through said aperture from said internal cavity to an exterior of said spacecraft outer shell in order to maintain said internal cavity at said controlled internal pressure and to maintain said internal cavity purge gas flow rate; wherein said spacecraft outer shell has a plurality of quasi-unique variable dimension peaked valve structures, each of said peaked valve structures having at least one interchangeable sheet guard fixedly connected to said peaked valve structure at an attachment segment and covering at least one valve aperture, wherein said sheet guard has an inner pressure-activated surface and an outer surface; and wherein said sheet guard moves outwardly from said peaked valve structure when said inner pressure-activated surface is in structural contact with said purge gas stream at an internal pressure sufficient to activate said sheet guard.