Patent ID: 7784268

Claim:
A propulsion system comprising: a rocket engine having a combustion chamber for combustion of a fuel and a first portion of an oxidizer flow, and at least one heat exchanger between the heat of combustion generated by the combustion chamber and a second portion of the oxidizer flow; an oxidizer supply; an oxidizer pump configured to fluidically couple the oxidizer supply to the combustion chamber and to the heat exchanger; a motor disposed downstream of the heat exchanger, an inlet of the motor being fluidically coupled to the heat exchanger, wherein the motor is configured to drive the oxidizer pump; and a flow coupling device configured to divide the oxidizer flow pumped from the oxidizer pump into a first flow path that passes from the flow coupling device to the combustion chamber, and a separate second flow path that passes from the flow coupling device through the heat exchanger and to the motor, the first portion of the oxidizer flow passing through the first flow path and the second portion through the second flow path.