Bidirectional control surfaces for use with high speed vehicles, and associated systems and methods

Abstract

Vehicles with bidirectional control surfaces and associated systems and methods are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a rocket can include a plurality of bidirectional control surfaces positioned toward an aft portion of the rocket. In this embodiment, the bidirectional control surfaces can be operable to control the orientation and/or flight path of the rocket during both ascent, in a nose-first orientation, and descent, in a tail-first orientation for, e.g., a tail-down landing.

1 . An airborne vehicle comprising:
 a first end portion;   a second end portion; and   one or more aerodynamic control surfaces, wherein the aerodynamic control surfaces are configured to facilitate aerodynamic control of the vehicle when the vehicle is flying in a first orientation in which the first end portion leads the second end portion, and when the vehicle is flying in a second orientation in which the second end portion leads the first end portion.   
     
     
         2 - 22 . (canceled)