RU2731518C1 - Device for accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: rocket and aircraft engineering.

SUBSTANCE: device for accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances includes an airship (AS) equipped with released chassis for takeoff and landing, aerodynamic control rudders, cruise turbojet engines, control system and cockpit with cockpit light. Housing AS is made in the form of a disc, has the shape of flattened in transverse direction and sharpened in front part of disc with flat and skewed to stern part of bottom. Aerodynamic keels are arranged on disc sides. AS is equipped with steering turbojet engines arranged with cruise turbojet engines in stern part of AS. In stern part air intake is located from above. Marching and steering engines are made with due allowance for their multiple actuation. Said aerodynamic rudders are composed of stern flap and elevons mounted at stern rear part, and rudders mounted on rear parts of aerodynamic keels. Control of aerodynamic rudders is supplemented with control of cruise and steering engines.

EFFECT: invention is aimed at widening the range of equipment.

3 cl, 3 dwg

Description

Technology area

The invention relates to the field of rocket and aviation technology and can be used in the creation of rocket and aviation systems that provide air transportation of passengers over intercontinental distances.

State of the art

The only means of delivering passengers over intercontinental distances is currently by plane. The main structural elements of the aircraft are the fuselage with cabins for passengers, wings with fuel storage tanks, tail unit, gas turbine engines installed under the wings on pylons, a landing gear, a control system and a cockpit canopy. It is known (LENTA.RU, 20.10.2019) that a Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft of the Australian airline "Qantas Airlines" in 2019 set two new world records for range and duration, flying with 50 passengers, including four pilots, distance 17800 km from New York to Sydney in 19 hours. 14 minutes, while consuming 100 tons of fuel. The disadvantage of all the most advanced modern passenger aircraft flying at intercontinental distances is the long flight duration, which is exhausting for passengers, despite the comfort created for passengers in flight.

The device proposed for solving the problem of accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances is the Starship project of the US firm Spase-X, which is capable (FOCUS magazine, 2019-05-31) to independently deliver in 20 minutes. 100 passengers over a distance of 10 thousand km, for example, from New York to London. This reusable spacecraft is an amalgamation of the spacecraft itself in the traditional sense of the term and the second stage of the US BFR two-stage super-heavy launch vehicle intended for manned flights to the Moon or Mars. The spacecraft is a large-diameter and long-length cylinder, pointed at the front, which starts and lands vertically on the Earth's surface. It does not require a ground launch complex and a head fairing. A mast is used for embarking and disembarking passengers and fueling rocket engines with propellants. The main section of the ship's motion lies outside the Earth's atmosphere. During descent, aerodynamic braking is provided by the ship's hull. A soft landing of the ship is ensured by controlled throttling of the rocket engine thrust. The cost of passenger tickets is determined by the cost of refueling and the cost of servicing the ship. The disadvantage of the device is the impossibility of delivering the same number of passengers over distances longer than 10 thousand km.

As an analogue of the invention, a project of a two-stage super-heavy carrier rocket of the USA BFR was adopted, which is supposed to be used to deliver passengers to intercontinental distances not limited in range. According to information (https://www.rbc.ru> technology and media> 2017), this rocket is capable of delivering 100 passengers to anywhere in the world in no more than 1 hour. The first stage of the launch vehicle has the same diameter as the Starship and is used as an accelerator. After the booster has accelerated to a given speed, the first stage is separated, turned around, decelerated at first by turning on the engines and subsequently due to the forces of aerodynamic resistance and gently sits down at the launch point. The soft landing of the stage is provided by controlled throttling of the rocket engine thrust. The second stage with passengers on board continues the flight to the destination point and then also lands softly. The launch vehicle as a whole does not require a ground launch complex and a head fairing. The advantage of the analogue is the complete reusability of both stages of the launch vehicle. The features of the analogue, which coincide with the essential features of the invention, are the reusability of both stages of the launch vehicle and the possibility of accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances of more than 10 thousand km. The disadvantage of the prototype is the increased cost of passenger tickets, associated with significant financial costs for refueling the launch vehicle with a large amount of fuel: 3300 tons for the first stage and 1200 tons for the second stage (Wikipedia - BFR (rocket)). The amount of fuel is due to the large dry mass of the launch vehicle itself, which is being developed for flights to the Moon and Mars and simultaneously allows solving the problem of accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances.

The closest to the invention in technical essence and accepted as a prototype is the device according to the application 2018138820. The device provides delivery of 100 tourists and 10 crew members to low-earth orbit and subsequent return to Earth. It consists of elements, the housings of which are made in the form of flattened in the transverse direction and tapered in the front part of the discs with a developed flat bottom and sloping towards the stern. Control efficiency is achieved due to a higher aerodynamic quality coefficient than an aircraft and a reduction in structural weight compared to an aircraft with a comparable payload, since external loads are distributed more evenly throughout the disk structure. The disk also provides lower overloads and lower external heat fluxes when flying in dense layers of the atmosphere at hypersonic speed. The elements of the device are equipped with sustainer and steering engines installed in the aft part of the disk, the necessary fuel supply, a control system, the necessary equipment, equipment and life support, a cockpit canopy, as well as a landing gear. For control when moving in the atmosphere, the elements of the device have aerodynamic rudders - a stern shield and elevons, installed in the stern of the flat bottom. To prevent stalling of the flow at high angles of attack, aerodynamic keels are installed on the sides of the disk. After the descent to a given flight altitude, the landing gear is released and the elements land “like an airplane” at the home airfield. The elements of the device are designed for reusable use, all their motors are designed for multiple switching on. The features of the prototype, which coincide with the essential features of the invention, are the reusability of all elements of the device and the possibility of accelerated delivery of passengers over intercontinental distances. The disadvantage of the prototype is the increased cost of passenger tickets due to the excessive number of elements contained in it.

Thus, the currently known technical means cannot provide accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances of more than 10 thousand km for a relatively low cost of tickets.

Disclosure of the essence of the invention

A device is proposed for the accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances of more than 10 thousand km, which before the start is a single whole, includes two independent elements, the joint and consistent operation of which ensures the fulfillment of the task.

and. The first element of the device, operating in the second stage, designed for the accelerated delivery of a given number of passengers and crew members to intercontinental distances, is a reusable suborbital ship (SC), which is based on the SC design. proposed on application No. 2018138820. The SC is a single-stage rocket separated from the aircraft (VK) at a given flight altitude. The body of the SC is made in the form of a disc flattened in the transverse direction and sharpened in the front part of the disk with a developed flat bottom and beveled towards the tail part. The efficiency of control when moving in the atmosphere at hypersonic speed is achieved due to a higher aerodynamic quality coefficient than that of an aircraft and a reduction in the weight of the structure compared to an aircraft with a comparable payload, since external loads are distributed more evenly throughout the entire structure of the disk. The disk also provides lower overloads and lower external heat fluxes when moving in the upper atmosphere at hypersonic speed. The SC is equipped with sustainer and steering rocket engines installed in the aft part of the disk, the necessary fuel supply, a control system, the necessary equipment, equipment and life support for the crew and passengers, as well as the landing gear. The trajectory of the SC after separation from the VC consists of three sections: a section for launching a suborbit to a given altitude with a given hypersonic speed, a controlled descent section with a decrease in altitude and speed in order to achieve specified geographic coordinates, a descent and landing section at the destination airport, while after reaching the given coordinates are lowered to a given flight altitude, at which the crew provides landing gear and landing of the SC "like an airplane" at the destination airport. There are cabins for passengers and a cockpit with a crew and a canopy for control in the descent and landing section at the destination airport. At the site of launching to the suborbit and during subsequent movement at the site of a controlled descent, cruise rocket engines SC, which have a high specific impulse and operate on environmentally friendly components, are alternately turned off or throttled to prevent the occurrence of an overload exceeding a predetermined value. To control the angles of attack and roll in the controlled descent section and the descent and landing section at the destination airport, aerodynamic rudders are used - a stern shield and elevons, installed in the stern of the flat bottom. To prevent stalling of the flow at high angles of attack, aerodynamic keels are installed on the sides of the disk. At the rear of the keels, aerodynamic rudders are installed. In the controlled descent section and the descent and landing section at the destination airport, combined control is carried out both with the help of aerodynamic rudders and with the help of sustainer and steering rocket engines. All elements of the SC are made taking into account their reusable use, all its engines are made taking into account their multiple switching on.

b. The second element of the device, working in the first place, is a VC with given weight and size and dynamic characteristics, which performs the functions of a heavy-duty cargo aircraft proposed by application 2018138820. It provides delivery of the equipped SC to the stratospheric height. The VC is equipped with propulsion and steering engines with the necessary fuel supply, as well as a control system, landing gear for takeoff and landing "like an airplane" at the airport of departure, the necessary equipment, equipment, and life support for the crew members. VK repeats the shape of the disk of the SC body, but has larger dimensions than that of the SC. Before the start, the equipped SC is installed in the VC body using a detachable connection of the separation system. To reduce the aerodynamic resistance at the stage of ascent into the stratosphere, the SC body is installed in the VC body in such a way that its body does not go beyond the outer contour of the VC, for which there is an oval cutout on the upper surface of the VC, covering the circumference of the SC. To ensure the strength of the VK body, the cutout from the inside is reinforced with a load-bearing element in the shape of the SC bottom. In order to close the cutout after separation of the SC, an elastic sealed membrane is fixed around the cutout perimeter, which has two stable stress states: either it is pressed into the body and pressed against the load-bearing element, or it is squeezed out of the body and forms its outer contour. Before installing the SC, the membrane is pressed into the body and pressed against the load-bearing element. After the pyro-locks are triggered, excess pressure is applied to the SC separation into the space between the membrane and the power element, which creates an effort to squeeze out the membrane and separate the SC from the VC. As a result, the membrane is squeezed out, closes the cutout and forms the outer contour of the VC. To ensure the required rigidity of the structure, the membrane on its inner surface has meridional and segmental sets of elements that are temporarily connected to each other and to the VC body after the outer contour is formed in order to create a load-bearing frame. Turbojet engines are used as the main and steering engines of the VC, for which air intakes are located in the aft part of it from above behind the oval cutout. There are aerodynamic control surfaces of attitude control along all axes similar to the SC: to control the angles of attack and roll, aerodynamic control surfaces are used - a stern shield and elevons installed in the aft part of the flat bottom, aerodynamic keels are installed on the sides of the disk, on the rear parts of which there are rudders. A cockpit with a crew and a cockpit canopy is provided for control at all stages of the flight - takeoff, climb, SC separation, descent, landing gear and landing "like an airplane" at the airport of departure. The control of the aerodynamic rudders is complemented by the control of the cruise and steering motors. VK is designed for multiple use.

The objective of this invention is the use of a disk-shaped aircraft of large diameter, which has a known number of advantages over a rocket and an aircraft, for the accelerated delivery of passengers over intercontinental distances.

The problem is solved by the fact that the device for the accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances consists of an airship that performs the function of a cargo plane and is controlled "like an airplane" from takeoff to landing at the airport of departure, is equipped with a landing gear for takeoff and landing, aerodynamic rudders , cruise turbojet engines, a control system, a cockpit with a cockpit canopy, equipped with the necessary fuel supply, the necessary equipment, equipment and life support for the crew, according to the invention, the VK body is made in the form of a disk, has the shape of a flattened in the transverse direction and sharpened in the front part of the disk with a flat bottom with a sloped bottom towards the aft, aerodynamic keels are installed on the sides of the disk, while the VC is equipped with steering turbojet engines placed with the cruise turbojet engines in the aft part of the VC, air intakes are located on top of the aft part, while sustainer and steering engines are made taking into account their repeated activation, as aerodynamic rudders are used aft shield and elevons installed on the stern of the bottom, and rudders installed on the rear parts of aerodynamic keels, VC is equipped with the necessary equipment, equipment and life support for crew members, At the same time, at all flight speeds of the VC, the control of the aerodynamic rudders is supplemented by the control of the main and steering engines.

The VC included in the device has an oval cutout on top in the case, into which a suborbital ship (SC) is installed, which is a single-stage rocket that delivers passengers to intercontinental distances, the shape of which repeats the shape of the VC, but smaller in size, before starting the SC is installed in the VC body with by means of a detachable connection of the separation system so that its contour does not go beyond the outer contour of the VC, the cutout from the inside is reinforced with a force element in the shape of the bottom of the SC, an elastic sealed membrane is fixed along the perimeter of the cutout, which has two stable stress states: either it is pressed into the body and pressed against the power element, or is squeezed out of the body and forms its outer contour, so that before installing the SC, the membrane is pressed into the body and pressed against the force element, and after the pyro-locks are triggered to separate the SC into the space between the membrane and the force element, excess pressure is applied, which creates an extrusion force membranes and separation of SC from corpus mustache VK, as a result of which the membrane is squeezed out, closes the cutout and forms the outer contour of the body, the membrane on its inner surface has meridional and segmental sets of elements temporarily connected to each other and to the VC body after the formation of the outer contour, while the SC is equipped with a control system and installed in the aft part of the SC with sustainer and steering rocket engines, as well as with the landing gear, the flight trajectory of the SC after separation from the VC consists of three sections: a section for launching a suborbit to a given altitude with a given hypersonic speed, a controlled descent section with a decrease in altitude and speed, a descent section, and landing at the destination airport, while after reaching the specified coordinates, a descent to a given flight altitude is carried out, at which the crew provides landing gear and landing of the SC "like an aircraft" at the destination airport, the SC hull is equipped with aerodynamic rudders - a stern shield and elevons installed on the stern parts bottom, and rudders installed on the rear parts of the aerodynamic keels, on its front part, bottom, aerodynamic keels and rudders, a heat-protective coating is applied, the SC is equipped with cruise rocket engines with high specific impulse operating on environmentally friendly components that alternately turn off or the trajectory of launching to the suborbit and during the subsequent movement on the controlled descent section, the SC is also equipped with the necessary supply of a working fluid, the necessary equipment, equipment and life support to accommodate a given number of crew members in a cockpit with a cockpit canopy and a given number of passengers in the cabins, while on the section controlled descent and descent and landing section at the destination airport, combined control is carried out, both with the help of aerodynamic rudders and with the help of main and steering rocket engines, all elements of the spacecraft are made taking into account their reusable use, main and steering engines are full, taking into account their multiple inclusion.

As the airport of departure of the device, the water area at the sea pier can be used.

The essence of the invention is illustrated by drawings of the elements of the device.

FIG. 1 shows the projection of the spacecraft on the vertical, horizontal and normal planes, on which the main structural elements of the spacecraft are visible.

FIG. 2 also shows the same projections of the equipped VC with the equipped SC installed on it.

FIG. 3 shows an axonometric projection of the device before the start.

In these figures:

1 - ship hull;

2 - bottom flat and beveled towards the tail;

3 - steering motors;

4 - cruise engines;

5 - aft shield;

6 - elevons;

7 - aerodynamic keels;

8 - rudders;

9 - cockpit canopy;

10 - oval cut;

11 - air intakes.

Implementation of the invention

An example of a possible implementation of the proposed technical solution.

1. SC is designed for the accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances up to 15 thousand km, numbering 100 people with 10 crew members. The shape of the SC body (Fig. 1) is a disc 1 flattened in the transverse direction and sharpened in the front part with a developed flat and oblique bottom 2 with a diameter of 35 m and a height of 7 m.

The launch mass of the SC is 945 tons and is distributed as follows:

- weight of the structure - 115 t; - weight of the refueled fuel - 810 t; - mass of equipment and gear - 9 t; - mass of passengers (100 hours) and crew (10 hours) - 11 t.

In the aft part of the spacecraft, there are steering rocket motors 3 to control the angular position of the hull relative to all three axes and propulsion rocket engines 4 with a total thrust of 1200 tf. The number of cruise rocket engines is determined by the value of the nominal thrust of each of them and the possibility of throttling the thrust. They operate on environmentally friendly fuel "liquid oxygen plus liquid hydrogen" and have a specific impulse outside the atmosphere of at least 450 s. The alternate shutdown of the engines or their throttling provides an overload during the flight of the SC of no more than 2 units, while ensuring the required level of reliability. In addition, aerodynamic surfaces are installed in the aft: aft shield 5 and elevons 6 to control the angles of attack and roll. To prevent the flow stall at high angles of attack, aerodynamic keels 7 are installed on the sides of the disk. Aerodynamic rudders are installed on the rear parts of the keels 8. On the front of the SC, on the bottom 2, flat and sloping towards the aft, aerodynamic keels 7 and rudders 5, 6, 8, a heat-shielding coating is applied (not shown in FIG. 1). There is a control system, the necessary equipment and equipment for passengers and crew with life support (not shown in Fig. 1), cabins for passengers (not shown in Fig. 1) and a cockpit with a cockpit canopy 9 to control the SC during descent and landing at the destination airport. There are retractable landing gear (not shown in Fig. 1) for landing "like an airplane". The SC is launched from the VC at a stratospheric altitude of 30 km. The trajectory of the SC consists of three sections: a section of launching to a subborbit at an altitude of 80 km with a hypersonic speed of 7000 m / s, a section of a controlled descent to an altitude of 20 km and with a decrease in speed to transonic when the specified geographic coordinates are reached, a section of descent and landing at the destination airport ... After reaching the specified coordinates, a descent to a low flight altitude is carried out, at which the crew provides landing gear and landing of the SC "like an airplane" at the destination airport. In the section of the controlled descent and the section of descent and landing at the destination airport, combined control is carried out both with the help of aerodynamic rudders 5, 6, 8, and with the help of cruise 4 and steering 3 rocket engines.

2. VC performs the function of a heavy-duty cargo aircraft, delivers an equipped SC to a stratospheric altitude of 30 km. Its shape (Fig. 2) repeats the shape of the SC disk and has a diameter of 45 m and a height of 9 m. The maximum take-off weight of the VC is 1560 t and is distributed as follows:

- weight of the structure - 470 t; - weight of the refueled fuel - 125 t; - mass of equipment and gear - 20 t; - payload mass - 945 t.

The outer contours of the VC are similar to those of the SC. The difference in the aft part of the VC is that turbojet engines are used as steering 3 and main engines 4. The propulsion engines 4 have a total thrust of 360 tf in the VC take-off mode, sufficient to bring the equipped SC to an altitude of 30 km with a cruising speed of 720 km / h. VC for the operation of cruise 4 and steering 3 engines has on board the necessary fuel supply, is equipped with a control system, necessary equipment, equipment, life support and chassis (not shown in Fig. 2). To reduce the aerodynamic drag in flight, the equipped SC is installed into the VC body before launch in such a way that its body does not go beyond the outer contour of the VC, for which there is an oval cutout on the upper surface of the VC. The cutout along the perimeter covers the contours of the SC. To ensure the strength of the VC body, the cutout from the inside is reinforced with a load-bearing element (not shown in Fig. 2) in the shape of the SC bottom. Along the perimeter of the cutout, an elastic sealed membrane (not shown in Fig. 2) is fixed, which, after separation of the SC, forms the outer contour of the VC. To ensure the required rigidity of the structure, the membrane on its inner surface has meridional and segmental sets of elements (not shown in Fig. 2), temporarily connected to each other and to the VC body after the formation of the outer contour in order to create a load-bearing frame. In the aft part, from above, behind the oval cutout, there are air intakes 11. At all flight speeds, the control of the aerodynamic rudders 5, 6, 8, if necessary, is supplemented by the control of the propulsion and steering engines.

The device for the accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances works as follows. After docking, testing, equipping, charging and refueling all elements of the device and accommodating passengers and crews, with the help of the VC, it takes off and ascends to stratospheric altitude at a given point in space and flies with a given course and at a given speed. At an altitude of 30 km, the equipped SC is undocked and separated from the VC, after which the VC with a closed membrane cutout in the hull returns to the airport of departure.

After separation of the SC from the VC, its sustainer and steering engines are switched on, and along the launch trajectory it is brought to a suborbital altitude of 80 km at a speed of 7000 m / s. Further, the SC carries out a controlled descent to an altitude of 20 km with a decrease in speed to transonic when the specified geographic coordinates are reached. At the same time, in the injection section and the controlled descent section, upon reaching a 2-fold overload, the main engines of the SC are alternately turned off or throttled. Upon reaching the specified coordinates, the SC carries out a decrease in height, lowering the landing gear and landing at the destination airport. The maximum flight range is 15 thousand km. The flight time does not exceed 2 hours.

As a result of the application of the present invention, a technical solution that ensures the delivery of 100 passengers to a distance of 15 thousand km in a time not more than 2 hours, for a relatively low cost of tickets, is implemented due to:

- the use of two elements of the device in the form of structures of a special disc-shaped form and a special arrangement of the IC in the VC housing and their separation;

- the reusability of the used elements of the device, taking off and landing "like an airplane";

- the use of a relatively small amount of fuel charged into the elements: 125 tons - in the VC and 810 tons - in the SC. In total, the maximum fuel consumption can be 935 tons.

Claims (3)

1. A device for the accelerated delivery of passengers to intercontinental distances, consisting of an airship (VC), performing the function of a cargo plane, controlled "like an airplane" from take-off to landing at the airport of departure, equipped with retractable landing gear for takeoff and landing, aerodynamic rudders, sustainer turbojet engines, a control system, a cockpit with a cockpit canopy, equipped with the necessary fuel supply, necessary equipment, equipment and life support for the crew, characterized in that the VC body is made in the form of a disk, has the shape of a flattened in the transverse direction and sharpened in the front of the disk with a flat and sloped bottom to the aft part, aerodynamic keels are installed on the sides of the disk, while the VC is equipped with steering turbojet engines placed with cruise turbojet engines in the aft part of the VC, air intakes are located on top in the aft part, while the main and steering engines and are made taking into account their repeated activation, as aerodynamic rudders are used aft shield and elevons installed on the stern of the bottom, and rudders installed on the rear parts of the aerodynamic keels, the VC is equipped with the necessary equipment, equipment and life support for the crew members, while on at all flight speeds of the VC, the control of the aerodynamic rudders is supplemented by the control of the propulsion and steering engines. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has an oval cutout on top in the hull, into which a suborbital ship (SC) is installed, which is a single-stage rocket, the shape of which repeats the shape of the VC, but smaller in size, before the start of the SC is installed in the hull VC using a detachable connection of the separation system so that its contour does not go beyond the outer contour of the VC, the cutout from the inside is reinforced with a force element in the shape of the bottom of the SC, and to close the cutout after the separation of the SC, an elastic sealed membrane is fixed along the perimeter of the cutout, having two stable stress states: either it is pressed into the body and pressed against the load-bearing element, or it is squeezed out of the body and forms its outer contour, so that before installing the SC the membrane is pressed into the body and pressed against the power element, and after the pyro-locks are triggered to separate the SC into the space between the membrane and the power element excess pressure is supplied, which creates a force to squeeze out the membrane and separate the SC from the housing mustache VK, as a result of which the membrane is squeezed out, closes the cutout and forms the outer contour of the body, the membrane on its inner surface has meridional and segmental sets of elements temporarily connected to each other and to the VC body after the formation of the outer contour, while the SC is equipped with a control system and installed in the aft part of the SC with sustainer and steering rocket engines, as well as with the landing gear, the flight trajectory of the SC after separation from the VC consists of three sections: a section for launching a suborbit to a given altitude with a given hypersonic speed, a controlled descent section with a decrease in altitude and speed, a descent section, and landing at the destination airport, while after reaching the specified coordinates, a descent to a given flight altitude is carried out, at which the crew provides landing gear and landing of the SC "like an aircraft" at the destination airport, the SC hull is equipped with aerodynamic rudders: a stern shield and elevons installed on the stern parts bottom, and rudders installed on the rear parts of the aerodynamic keels, on its front part, bottom, aerodynamic keels and rudders, a heat-protective coating is applied, the SC is equipped with cruise rocket engines with high specific impulse operating on environmentally friendly components that alternately turn off or the trajectory of launching to the suborbit and during the subsequent movement on the controlled descent section, the SC is also equipped with the necessary supply of a working fluid, the necessary equipment, equipment and life support to accommodate a given number of crew members in a cockpit with a cockpit canopy and a given number of passengers in the cabins, while on the section a controlled descent and a descent and landing section at the destination airport, combined control is carried out both with the help of aerodynamic rudders and with the help of propulsion and steering rocket engines, all elements of the SC are made taking into account their reusable use, the sustainer and steering engines are made lnened taking into account their multiple inclusion. 3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the water area at the sea berth is used as the airport of departure of the device.

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