Possible? or Impossible? "FLYING SUBMARINE"....

[kilbysg]

A ship that can submerged under the deepest sea like the submarine and can fly to outer space like the space shuttle...
Do we think in our kind of technology, someone could design or prove some research regarding with this "Flying Submarine"...
I know it is a silly imaginary concept coming from me, but...it's really fascinating if this is built for real....

[alan white]

If it's heavy enough to sink, the air within must be compensated for, creating an average density heavier than 64 lbs per square foot. Steel, lead, etc..
That's real heavy. Say its the size of a car. A car might enclose about 180 cubic feet. That means a weight of maybe 12,000 lbs or so to sink in sea water.
Part of this would be a rocket powerful enough to launch the sub into space. The rocket would need to push the sub up to about 17,000 mph to reach escape velocity.
Something more powerful than our current rockets would be needed, however, as rocket fuel can barely push its own weight up into space without any payload----- the boosters they use are just about all fuel.
The shuttle itself is quite light, lighter I think than the sub would have to be.
Your sub would have to be very large, in other words, and it would have to jettison much of its weight prior to take-off (and I don't mean water but lead or something), and then also shed a couple of booster rockets too as it blasts its way up toward space.
Sort of a one trick pony costing billions.
How about plain old x-ray glasses? A lot more feasable and a load of fun at the beach.

Alan

[kilbysg]

Fun at the beach is more fascinating using those cool glasses.

By the way, it would be really a large ship and really costs a billions of dollars or pounds or tons of resources.
Aside from rocket fuel, it may used a plutonium and uranium as a power turbine(that's an ingredient for a nuke).
and also the combination of getting it heavy on the water and getting it light on the atmosphere is a quite a bit to figure the structure of the ship...
A sort of project maybe, mostly for a lot of rocket scientists...

Kilby

[charmc]

Any question is valid.

Possible in theory, super costly and unnecessary in reality.

That being said, noted science fiction author John Ringo has written several novels in which a nuclear submarine is modified to operate as a spacecraft. Of course, being science fiction, the sub-spaceship uses a black box power source that draws energy from the warped fabric of space-time .... you know the rest.

Like most hybrids, such a vessel would be not very good at either role, I suspect.

[alan white]

The biggest problem is miniaturizing the darned lenses so that you don't appear so obvious. If you get caught, you're "clamming", so get a clamming license just in case. Clamming---- everyone loves clammers.

[kilbysg]

Yah, i supposed to... and they wouldn't suspect me now that i am sneaking on them...harharhar

[charmc]

Have to agree. Miniaturizing lenses is easier than inventing a space-time warping engine, and x-ray glasses would be more fun.

[alan white]

I don't know if you remember, Charlie, but years ago the comic books had an ad for x-ray glasses on the inside cover. The guy in the picture (who looks a lot like me) was at the beach staring at an innocent girl. He had this grin that said it all. It was a s*%t-eating grim in fact.
This ad was geared for ten year old boys. They must have sold millions of those glasses.

[charmc]

Yeah, I remember those ads (OK, neither of us is a 20 something anymore ). Sounded really cool and lots of fun. There was this really pretty girl down the street from my house ...

[kilbysg]

That's cool... any attractive girl you want to look at makes you grin...


Then, what if she did ask you? "Why were you grinning? Is there something wrong on my clothes?"..... heeh heeh heeh....

[kach22i]

USO:
http://www.crystalinks.com/usos206.html

A UFO is an Unidentified Flying Object

A USO is an Unidentified Submerged (underwater) Object

Only the aliens know how to do this.

[juiceclark]

It's a piece of cake! Take Evinrudes old "Heli-Bout," switch to modern power sources and lightweight materials, waterproof and strengthen the canopy (and the rest of it) and you have a sub/boat/helicopter. Use stabilizer type fins for underwater steering instead of bouyancy.
Perhaps you could drop the old Evinrude 2-stroke from on high to destroy a bridge and hasten your getaway from the ambulance chasing attorneys.

View page 23:
http://www.fiberglassics.com/galleries/bitb/default.htm

http://sev.prnewswire.com/retail/200...6062007-1.html

Best of all, just like most things that try to do too much, it will do all things it was meant to do poorly! That means it will be collectable someday!

Tony in Sw FL

[jehardiman]

Originally Posted by charmc

Any question is valid.

Possible in theory, super costly and unnecessary in reality.

That being said, noted science fiction author John Ringo has written several novels in which a nuclear submarine is modified to operate as a spacecraft. Of course, being science fiction, the sub-spaceship uses a black box power source that draws energy from the warped fabric of space-time .... you know the rest.

Like most hybrids, such a vessel would be not very good at either role, I suspect.

One of the things I have always pointed out is that it is far easier to build a spaceship than a submarine (less loads, better environment, etc). So once you have the submarine, it is just a matter of horsepower to make it fly. Von Braun had a nuclear rocket engine design (never built but pretty far into development), and once you are in low orbit an ion engine, gauss drive, or solar sail would work. So possible?..I would have to say yes, and has been so since the 1950's (Read Robert Heinlien's "Future History" series of short stories/novellas for some more background). But the cost...

[Gannet]

Jules Verne discuss this in his book "Master of the World"

And you all probably remember Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" Seaview had a flying sub the "FS-1"

Actually, I remember reading in a book (need to find and will post later) that this concept was investigated back in the 50's by Convair as an off-shoot of the SeaDart.

My thoughts it would have to be a large seaplane carrying a submersible or a submarine carrying a seaplane. Currently, as one vehicle if possible and affordable would have very lousy performance.

The hull would most likely have to be advanced composites and/or titanium. The propulsion/powerplant system is beyond my imagination.

[jehardiman]

Originally Posted by Gannet

Actually, I remember reading in a book (need to find and will post later) that this concept was investigated back in the 50's by Convair as an off-shoot of the SeaDart.