Patent ID: 7458544

Claim:
An arrangement for launching a payload into space, comprising: a carrier aircraft; a launch vehicle, having a nose end and an engine end and a center of gravity therebetween, the launch vehicle having a first forward portion and a second forward portion, each positioned between the center of gravity and the nose end of the launch vehicle, wherein the launch vehicle releasably mounted underneath the carrier aircraft; a first member, having a first end hingedly mounted to the carrier aircraft, and a second end in contact with the first forward portion of the launch vehicle, wherein the first member is of a selected length chosen to constrain the first forward portion of launch vehicle to move along an arced path away from the carrier aircraft so that the nose end of the launch vehicle is prevented from rotating upward when the launch vehicle is released from the carrier aircraft while the first member is in contact with the first forward portion of the launch vehicle; a brake mounted to the carrier aircraft; a second member having a portion in braking engagement with the brake and an end mounted in impulse applying relation to the second forward portion of the launch vehicle, the second member being extensible from the brake for a selected length, the brake engaging the second member so as to apply a braking force to the second member as it is extended from the brake; a deployable aerodynamic drag device, mounted to the launch vehicle rearward of the center of gravity.