From Rockets to Space Pants: Patents That are Out of This World

This article was included in our Spring/Summer 2011 edition of Inside IP magazine.

It is 50 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. 

Although it seems the Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev or his colleagues did not obtain any patents for the Vostok-K launch vehicle which sent Gagarin into space (no doubt for ideological reasons), there are thousands of patents and patent applications for space-related inventions.  In fact, some patents date back more than 150 years, well before Gagarin’s historic spaceflight.

Infringement of a patent for a space-related invention is an interesting topic in itself.   Of course, earth-bound, national patents can be used to protect, for example, commercial satellites before they are launched.  Does the protection afforded by these national patents extend to outer space?  There are provisions under US law which treats inventions used in outer space on a space object under the jurisdiction or control of the United States to be considered to be used within the United States.  However, how do you prove infringement? Who could infringe, particularly patents related to human space travel?  Readers interested in exploring space-related IP issues, such as extraterritorial patent infringement, may want to start by reading “Patent rights and flags of convenience in outer space” by Matthew J. Kleiman on The Space Review website.

So what patents are out there?  Here are just a few patents which can be found using the appropriately-named espacenet website (ep.espacenet.com) searching the areas of rocket-engine plants, cosmonautics and a few key names.

Rockets were probably invented about a thousand years ago in China, well before patents existed.  That does not mean to say that patents for rockets only started being filed in the run up to the space race: they were being filed more than a hundred years before Sputnik was launched. 

Charles Golightly was granted a patent (GB 1841/08771) for “A new apparatus for obtaining motive power” in 1841.  Unfortunately, a copy of the specification does not now seem to be available, although cartoons at the time ridiculed Golightly’s rocket-like invention.  An example of a later –  and perhaps more workable – invention is French patent no. 338136, granted in 1904, which is directed to “A propellant for flying torpedoes, rockets and other similar projectiles” and which claims the use of a compartmentalised interior and elastic walls.

Robert Goddard is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern rocketry.  He was granted many patents, including US patent no. 1102653 granted in 7 July 1914, which claimed:

“1. In a rocket apparatus, in combination, a primary rocket, comprising a combustion chamber and a firing tube, a secondary rocket mounted in said firing tube, and means for firing said secondary rocket when the explosive in the primary rocket is substantially consumed”.

and US patent no. 1103503 granted on 14 July 1914, which claimed:

“1. A rocket apparatus having, in combination, a combustion chamber, a casing containing a supply of combustible material, and means for successively feeding portions of said material to said combustion chamber.”

Put differently, the first patent claimed a multi-stage rocket and the second patent covered the use of liquid propellant, both used by the Vostok rocket and the well-known Saturn V moon rocket.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed in 1958 and was responsible for sending America’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard, into sub-orbital space in 1961 and putting John Glenn into orbit in 1962.

NASA seemed to file remarkably few applications during the 1960s Apollo program.

In many ways, it is surprising that any patent applications were filed during the space race.  After all, there were only two players in the game, the Soviets and the Americans.  Given the political and ideological nature of the space race, the huge resources needed to develop and operate a space program, and the winner-takes-all importance of placing man in space or on the moon, the two global superpowers were unlikely to rely on patents to
better their position or to try to hinder the progress of their rival.

Interestingly, Wernher von Braun, the German rocket scientist who designed the V2 rocket and who was the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket, only appears to have been granted one patent, US patent no. 2967393, in January 1961 for a rocket-propelled missile.

So what patents did NASA obtain?

Well, ironically, the first patent which appears to have been granted to NASA in August 1963, US patent no.  3100294, did not mention space at all and was for a time-division multiplexer.  In fact, most of the early NASA patents were for inventions which had clear earth-bound applications, such as communications, measuring instruments and manufacturing processes.  However, the patents certainly had space-based applications in mind.  For example, US patent no 3488103 was granted for a baffle for reducing glare from the sun.  The patent states that such light shades could be fitted to star sensors for use in lunar and planetary exploration.

As the Apollo program came to an end in 1972, the number of patent applications being filed by NASA dramatically increased.  This is when we begin to see some real space travel inventions.

US patent no. 3751727 was granted in August 1973 for a space suit.  The abstract provides a good summary:

“Disclosed is a pressure suit for high altitude flights and particularly space missions. The suit is designed for astronauts in the Apollo Space Program and may be worn both inside and outside a space vehicle, as well as on the lunar surface. It comprises an integrated assembly of inner comfort liner, intermediate pressure garment, and outer thermal protective garment with removable helmet and gloves.  The pressure garment comprises an inner convoluted sealing bladder and outer fabric restraint to which are attached a plurality of cable restraint assemblies.  It provides versatility in combination with improved sealing and increased mobility for internal pressures suitable for life support in the near vacuum of outer space.”

From its title and drawings, US patent no. 3910533 (granted in 1975) appears to be a pure space invention: spacecraft docking and alignment system.  However, inspection of the claims reveals that it has wider, potentially earth-bound applications, and is directed to “An apparatus for indicating alignment along a docking axis of a first body and a second body during docking to assist in such docking…”.

Of course, NASA was not the only organisation to file patent applications.

General Electric was granted US patent no 4964596 in 1990 entitled, “Spacecraft structure for orbital assembly and servicing”.  The figure accompanying the abstract has the unmistakable picture of the Space Shuttle.  However, some of its claims, really do beg the question as to who else, apart from NASA, would infringe:

“2. A method for transporting a disassembled spacecraft into space by use of an Earth-to-space transport vehicle including a cargo bay and a manipulable arm, and for assembling said spacecraft in space, […] comprising the steps of: […] removing [a] partial spacecraft from said cargo bay, and positioning said partial spacecraft […] to form an assembled spacecraft; using said arm, removing said assembled spacecraft from said bay; and releasing said assembled spacecraft from said arm.”

Quite simply, NASA seems to be the only business or organisation with a space shuttle having a cargo bay with a manipulable arm!

It seems that, as time has gone on, space-related patents have become concerned with more day-to-day problems.

US patent no. 5242134, granted in 1993, is directed to a space station trash removal system.  This patent claims jettisoning trash in a bag which burns up on re-entry.  In its introduction, the patent contains some wonderful statements of the obvious:

“Manned orbiting space stations (and spacecraft generally) have very limited internal volume for the crew. Over a period of time waste material and unwanted objects such as food packaging, failed equipment, experimental by-products, human waste, used filters and so forth are generated and use up available space. It is a desirable advantage to be able to dispose of such waste material during a mission so as not to proliferate or increase space debris by ejecting it into space or requiring it to be stored in the spacecraft”.

The patent was granted to NASA and there are no counterpart applications outside the US.  It again begs the question as to who NASA expected to infringe the patent.

As everyone knows, space can get really cold.  The solution?  Really warm and highly specified underwear.  The abstract of Russian patent 2358624, granted in 2009, describes flight underwear for an astronaut which is made from double-layer knitted fabric. It has an internal layer made from natural silk twisted fibres and an external layer made of physically-modified cotton-like polyamide complex textured plied twines.  These consist of “elementary profiled fibres having stretch indices of modification of transverse section geometric form within the limits: filing degree 0.34 ±10%, deformation degree 1.8 ±10%, branching degree 75 ±10%, irregularity degree 1.45 ±10%”.  The abstract states that the underwear is highly hygienic, wear-resistant, comfortable and does not release fibre particles.  It seems that even earth-bound members of mankind, in the colder parts of the world, might also benefit from such underwear.

A patent directed to underwear would seem to stand a good chance of being infringed on earth.  However, infringement of a moon-related patent in the next 10 or 15 years seems much less likely.

Russian patent no. 2248917, filed in 2003 and granted in 2005, has the title “Device for movement of astronaut over lunar surface”.  Its English language abstract states that the patent lies in the field of “devices for movement of astronauts under conditions of low gravitation”.  The invention is to attach springs to the astronaut’s boots.   

Finally, one patent at least seems to have contemplated infringement by
extraterrestrial beings. US patent no 3107069, granted in 1963, is directed to a space suit attitude control and thrusting device.  The invention looks rather fun to use.  However, the claim language seems to suggest that that the device could be used by non-earthlings:

“A thrust and attitude control device for an individual, such as an astronaut,…”

So, what individual other than an astronaut did the inventor have in mind? ET?

Until recently, it could be argued that patents for inventions related to human space travel were of little or no value.  However, since the duopoly on manned space travel has been broken, with China sending a man into space and with the first successful privately-operated manned spaceflight, patents for manned spacecraft and moon walkers might very well be important after all.

Pawel Piotrowicz 24 May 2011

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