Author Topic: Aircraft Carrier Launched Atlas Concept (Read 21913 times)

Jim · « **Reply #1 on:** 02/06/2008 10:21 am »

That was before Boomers were fully developed

lbiderman · « **Reply #2 on:** 02/06/2008 10:25 am »

Most likely a Navy´s proposal to capture some of the space activities of those days and not let the Air Force take all of it: they did the same with nuclear delivery methods, when before the SLBM the Navy wanted to build some "supercarriers" that could take strategic bombers into the Soviet Union (ultimately, they lost that "competition" to the Air Force ICBMs). Still, pretty cool, almost like a Sea Launch early proposal.

dwmzmm · « **Reply #3 on:** 02/06/2008 10:30 am »

They "did" launch a captured V-2 off the deck of an aircraft carrier early in our country's rocketry development era....

dwmzmm · « **Reply #4 on:** 02/06/2008 10:39 am »

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dwmzmm - 6/2/2008 5:30 AM

They "did" launch a captured V-2 off the deck of an aircraft carrier early in our country's rocketry development era....

http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Space_Weapons_02_V2_Midway.html

William Barton · « **Reply #5 on:** 02/06/2008 12:27 pm »

Phil Bono's old "Frontiers of Space" book has an illustration of a Hyperion aerospike vehicle lifting off from a carrier as well. I think it was represented as a rapid deployment suborbital troop transport.

simonbp · « **Reply #6 on:** 02/06/2008 03:42 pm »

That looks like an Atlas-Agena, though I'm not quite sure why the ship is under way during the launch!

Simon

edkyle99 · « **Reply #7 on:** 02/06/2008 03:50 pm »

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simonbp - 6/2/2008 10:42 AM

That looks like an Atlas-Agena, though I'm not quite sure why the ship is under way during the launch!

Simon

Pointed into the wind, of course!

- Ed Kyle

PMN1 · « **Reply #8 on:** 02/06/2008 04:38 pm »

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simonbp - 6/2/2008 10:42 AM

That looks like an Atlas-Agena, though I'm not quite sure why the ship is under way during the launch!

Adding 30 knots....

Namechange User · « **Reply #9 on:** 02/06/2008 05:50 pm »

This is the same concept as Sea Launch. Float to the area you need to launch from to gain best performance for your vehicle using the Earth itself.

Rusty_Barton · « **Reply #10 on:** 02/06/2008 08:07 pm »

It could launch a Mercury capsule and then recover it. Who needs the Cape?

simonbp · « **Reply #11 on:** 02/07/2008 05:30 am »

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Rusty_Barton - 6/2/2008 2:07 PM

It could launch a Mercury capsule and then recover it. Who needs the Cape?

Ooo, don't say that around the KSC folks, that's blasphemy!

Speaking of which, from a KSC 1963 "Future Projects" document:

Simon

dwmzmm · « **Reply #12 on:** 02/07/2008 10:29 am »

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simonbp - 7/2/2008 12:30 AM

Quote
Rusty_Barton - 6/2/2008 2:07 PM

It could launch a Mercury capsule and then recover it. Who needs the Cape?

Ooo, don't say that around the KSC folks, that's blasphemy!

Speaking of which, from a KSC 1963 "Future Projects" document:

Simon

Cool! But that looks like a Saturn 1 on the pad.

Sid454 · « **Reply #13 on:** 02/12/2008 05:07 am »

The origin of sea launch also I agree with simonbp that looks like an Atlas Agena it's launching.
This idea was taken even farther with concepts such as floating launch. Traux did a lot of study with this most famous being the seadragon booster.
http://neverworld.net/truax/

Sid454 · « **Reply #14 on:** 02/12/2008 05:11 am »

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Rusty_Barton - 6/2/2008 3:07 PM

It could launch a Mercury capsule and then recover it. Who needs the Cape?

Technically sealaunch could actually do that in real life with a soyuz or dragon capsule barring issues such as man rating Zenit.

Umm could Falcon 9 be made to work with sea launch that would solve the manrating issue.

Sid454 · « **Reply #15 on:** 02/12/2008 05:18 am »

The KSC future projects platform is pretty cool was it anchored in shallow water or was it a floating platform?
Also have any stuff on Rombus which is sorta on topic?

Jim · « **Reply #16 on:** 02/12/2008 11:23 am »

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Sid454 - 12/2/2008 1:18 AM

The KSC future projects platform is pretty cool was it anchored in shallow water or was it a floating platform?
Also have any stuff on Rombus which is sorta on topic?

It was anchored like oil wells of the time

JayWee · « **Reply #17 on:** 03/09/2022 07:23 pm »

Never heard of this one before:

https://twitter.com/thegeneralboard/status/1501594527920168972

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As an aircraft carrier, the Essex class are known for their impressive arsenal of aircraft.

However, some Essex class carriers might have gone a step further as rocket carriers and launch platforms!
Early rockets, through a combination of lack of power and less advanced guidance, had difficulty placing satellites in certain orbits from the available launch installations in the United States.

During the early 1960s, the @USNavy developed a plan to modify an Essex class carrier into a ocean-going rocket launch platform. The carrier could operate from the most optimal launch zones, along rockets to reach orbit more easily and with larger payloads.
The design would see the installation of the launch pad at the stern. Depending on the side of the rockets, up to three could be carried by the carrier.

The stern would be modified to better support the rockets as well as safely vent the exhaust away from the ship.
A modified Atlas type rocket was expected to be used.

However, the design remained a concept. Improving technology allowed rockets to better access their intended orbits even from less than ideal launch areas.

Though the Essex class would never get to launch rockets into space, they did provide vital support to Space Exploration. Several of the Essex class served as recovery ships for Astronauts as they returned to Earth.

Jim · « **Reply #18 on:** 03/09/2022 07:37 pm »

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=11769.0

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #19 on:** 03/09/2022 08:40 pm »

Moderator:
Old thread + new thread = merged thread!

Also noting a post in the older thread by OV-105 = Namechange User.