Aircraft/spacecraft ground accelerator

Claim 1

A ground accelerator for supporting and accelerating a fully loaded space vehicle mounted thereon along a runway prior to launching, said accelerator comprising a framework of generally rectangular shape, a aerodynamic fairing attached to said framework for providing positive pitch and directional stability to the accelerator, a plurality of support pads on the upper side of said framework for mounting the space vehicle to the ground accelerator, said plurality of support pads including a forward support pad for supporting the forward portion of the space vehicle, an aft support pad for supporting the aft section of the space vehicle, and a pair of stabilizing pads, one each positioned on the upper side edges of the accelerator to provide further support for the space vehicle, a plurality of wheel/tires positioned at each corner of the accelerator in contact with the runway surface for supporting the accelerator and providing mobility thereto, said plurality of wheel/tires including a pair of forward sets positioned one set at each forward corner of the accelerator, and a pair of aft sets each positioned at each rearward corner of the accelerator, each of said wheel/tires including an epoxy glass filled matrix with silastic foam core elements embedded therein and a tire tread around the outer circumferential surface thereof, means for accelerating the ground accelerator along the runway to reach a predetermined critical speed.