Could the Sea Dragon Rocket Have Revolutionized Space Travel?

[Moretorque]

I ran into the Sea Dragon Rocket that was cooked up on paper in 1962, could this have worked efficiently and if so could it have made it to where we would have been much further along in manned space and the ability to launch over sized payloads...

Thanks...

 

[Dr.D]

Was there a question in there?

 

[Moretorque]

Just curious as to weather or not this was very feasible and if so would this have been a much better style platform to get the space program going for a heavy launch system. A lot of people feel the Shuttle was the wrong way to go for long term reliable reusable launch system.

Just curious as to weather people had seen this proposal for a monster rocket before...

 

[Dr.D]

I ran across it elsewhere just recently, on Youtube, I think.

 

[Moretorque]

The Soviets have been known to think big but even they would have been in total awe of such a flying beast with a 1.1 million pound payload capacity.

 

[JBA]

For more basic information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)

 

[berkeman]

For more basic information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)

Interesting. Good old Robert Truax!

That must be where this other thread's OP got his questions... https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-missile-ballast-stability-works.912688/

 

[Moretorque]

I just found it on UTube as the other poster did, I have been watching rocket vids and I thought this was worth a talk. I remember reading a magazine or something back years ago where in the article after the space shuttle was in operation engineers were finally admitting under the stresses of getting into space a launch vehicle is best built as simple as possible and he did not come directly out and say it but was alluring to the fact they out foxed themselves with the Shuttle.

I am no engineer so I have no idea if this could work but it seems if so 3 different sizes of rockets built of a similar design in order to place payloads in orbit depending on payload size and a small space plane like the X37 to do service would have been the real way to go long term and would have no reason to be retired.

I most definitely have to give the Space Shuttle program credit and the personnel that fixed Hubble admiration proving the concept, even Nasa thought the Hubble was a right off but that group who fixed it did a incredible feet so much so that even the world space community was shocked about the end result...