Unconventional Liftoffs: The Hydrofoil Albatros Rocket

1974 Russian Space Shuttle Design Concept
Alexeyev Sukhoi Albatros 3 Stage Rocket System
At its core, the vehicle was conceptualized as a multi-stage system, with the initial stage featuring a hydrofoil weighing approximately 1800 tons and stretching 70 meters in length. This hydrofoil, designed by Alexeyev, served as a precursor to a full-fledged ekranoplan. Its purpose was akin to the Space Shuttle’s external fuel tank, carrying a substantial payload of 200 tons of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2). These propellants were intended to fuel the motors of the second stage.
Mounted atop the hydrofoil, the second stage, estimated at 210 tons, utilized the LOX and LH2 from the first stage to accelerate the entire assembly to a remarkable speed of 180 km/h over a span of 110 seconds. This acceleration occurred along the surface of the Caspian Sea, or alternatively, the Aral or Lake Baikal, effectively utilizing the vast water bodies as makeshift runways. After reaching the desired speed, the second stage detached from the hydrofoil and initiated its own propulsion system, lifting itself off the now-empty barge.
This second stage was an innovative creation from Sukhoi, designed as a high-speed reusable winged rocket plane/booster. Its primary objective was to elevate the third stage-an actual spaceplane, also crafted by Sukhoi-to a high altitude. The spaceplane, a pivotal component of the system, was equipped to propel itself into orbit while the booster, having fulfilled its purpose, coasted back to Earth. While details about the piloted nature of the booster remain uncertain, given Sukhoi’s background, it is plausible that it might have been manned.
The final stage of this remarkable vehicle was a tail-less rocket plane, boasting a mass of about 80 tons and spanning 40 meters in length. This design made it comparable to the American orbiter. Despite its similarity in appearance to certain iterations of the Hermes shuttle or the later Russian/European Kliper, it stood out due to its payload capacity of 30 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and its crew of two. Technically, this stage was a marvel, incorporating advanced engineering concepts to achieve its objectives.
Sources:
falsesteps.wordpress.com/2016...
www.astronautix.com/a/albatros....
"Ship Lorina" (skfb.ly/oJXpU) by mamont nikita is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (creativecommons.org/licenses/b....
Song: Dryskill & Max Brhon - War Machine [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: ncs.io/WarMachine Watch: youtu.be/
#hydrofoiling #hydrofoil

[@Hazegrayart]

The hydrofoil barge is used as a fuel tank for run up to take off.

[@tbjtbj7930]

Must make stability interesting.

[@Desrtfox71]

Hmm, hydrofoils really don't want to work past about 50 or 60 knots. Beyond that, and there's a good chance of catastrophic failure. I don't think 50 or 60 knots is enough to get past stall speed for the launch vehicle. I guess this is one reason that nothing like this has ever been pursued. (That wing on the launch vehicle probably needs 150-200 knots for takeoff). Sure looks cool though as an animation!

[@user-tw4mc3tp9z]

Вода в 800 раз плотнее воздуха...👆

[@chasethevioletsun9996]

@@Desrtfox71 Yeah, sadly the physics really don't work here. A hydrofoil that transitions to an Ekranoplan, though, might...

[@Desrtfox71]

Better off just doing a hovercraft, or you know, using a runway :)@@chasethevioletsun9996

[@Chris.Davies]

If I had to imagine the most over-complicated, most needlessly dangerous, most inefficient way to get something into orbit, I'd probably come up with something insane like this.

[@restnyoni3064]

I'm not a rocket scientist but I agree with you and why not put wheels and put it on a long runway

[@iliketrains0pwned]

I once heard someone call Soviet engineering, "redneck engineering with a superpower's budget." Makes a lot of sense tbh lol

[@dtruque]

Yeap... how can we add more drag? Let's run it on water! We'll need more fuel though, no problem, we'll fill a barge to rim! How do we get the barge back? That's not the point... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@slawomirkulinski]

@Hazegrayart is faking physics in KSP. Max speed hydrofoil craft ever constructed had a speed of 114 km/h, that's not much for a delta wing to work. But if you are going for more complexity and insanity you can add a first stage being a ground effect plane like Caspian Sea Monster.

[@TrainTruck]

​@@iliketrains0pwned Even real ones would do a better job than that.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

I don't think I've ever seen a worse idea for a launch. Cald War engineers really tested everything, even the least realistic lol

[@ThePUNISHEDBacon]

I get the feeling though, that it might have, just maybe, worked.

[@Desrtfox71]

Not even close@@ThePUNISHEDBacon

[@ThePUNISHEDBacon]

What are you saying?@@Desrtfox71

[@Desrtfox71]

I am saying a hydrofoil can't get the first stage up to a speed necessary for that wing to lift the vehicles. Rocket motor or no. Fuel or no, hydrofoils don't go past about 50-60 knots. Beyond that and you're just going to tear the foils off. @@ThePUNISHEDBacon

[@ThePUNISHEDBacon]

@@Desrtfox71 >Forgets that they could improve the design of a hydrofoil to go faster than that

[@jctripplesticks]

This doesn't seem complicated enough. It needs to be a submersible as well

[@ashemgold]

With a third "mini-shuttle" on top of the second space plane on top of the first stage winged colossus. (On top of the rusty tug-foil.)

[@garyhervig3327]

LOL !!

[@brad4013]

😂

[@jackandblaze5956]

I was disappointed that it wasn't shown in orbit with a smaller rocket that pops out of the orbiter to get to geosynchronous, and then a smaller rocket that pops out of that one to get to the asteroid belt, with a smaller one that pops out of that one to land on an asteroid, with a smaller module that pops out of that one and so on until the last module is the size of a peanut.

[@Raymond-rr5iv]

🤔 Yes, totally amphibious and submersible 😎👍 way to go 😉🤣✌🏼!!!

[@duotronicnone4572]

Very impressive render. The lighting, as always, was very good. And the wake effects were very well done and realistic.

[@AccAkut1987]

Tho the moment it transitions to glide on the hydro foils, there's no wake visible at all, looks wrong, there should be some sort of wake from the stakes and the underwater wings. IMO we should also see the shockwaves from the rocket exhaust on the water surface. The render of the actual craft is really awesome, I'm always so impressed how much improvement there is with each new render on this channel!

[@gudnergiovannilondono9396]

Thinking the same. Good CGI

[@nicdillon6492]

We're you watching the same video I was?? The water dynamics were absolute garbage

[@WTDoorley]

As an engineer friend of mine used to say, why make something simple and efficient when you can make it complex and wonderful!

[@user-ee6gj1ld5p]

Хорошо, но причём тут это видео.

[@user-lb4qz7hg5q]

變得簡單又有效率，它的產品很容易被仿冒。

[@acarrillo8277]

It didn't make sense until I read the description. The hydrofoil barge was used to fuel the entire surface run up to take off velocity.

[@simongeard4824]

It didn't make sense *after* reading that. The barge is mostly just supplying the fuel needed to overcome the drag induced by towing the barge through the water... the wings are providing more lift than the foils do, so by the time you're going fast enough to get the hull out of the water, the barge is just dead weight.

[@LaserJake99]

Nope nope nope. It's not even remotely practical. I cringe at this.

[@acarrillo8277]

"make sense" was probably too strong a statement, "less stupid" would have been a much better choice of words. When I first watched this prior to reading the description my half awake brain thought that all the fuel being used was from the rocket only.

[@zirinovskis]

Why a barge? If you want to do something this stupid and unsafe, use a wheeled vehicle on a runway. Or on rails.

[@hjfreyer]

If it was running along the ground, the wheels would need to push the whole Earth backwards in order to get the plane moving. With the hydrofoil, you only need to push the entire ocean backwards, which is much lighter than the Earth. Those Soviets were onto something.

[@simonbeaird7436]

This is the most 'Thunderbirds' thing I've seen outside that TV show. Just nutz! But cool!

[@JimmyBlether]

"You know what our spaceplanes need? Salt water sprayed onto their bellies." Such a wacky concept, rail launch would likely be a preferable option in comparison but boat/hydrofoil is certainly unique to say the least.

[@Zorba-Ivy]

I see no way in which this could possibly go wrong.

[@anthonyj.ballamis6111]

Like the barge being used for fuel then the engines pointing directly at the barge when it angles upward? I know right . . .

[@Benoit-Pierre]

A flying whale could dent the paint ...

[@user-ee6gj1ld5p]

Если это не сарказм, то ты прав.

[@matyasfried8510]

Soviet space program truly never dissapoints.

[@alrightydave]

Looks like RS25’s on the first stage spaceplane

[@goldeneye70]

And do you know who created the Soviet Union? The United States bankers did, It's true! Get the book "Behold a Pale horse" by William Cooper, not many people know that the USSR was created by United States bankers to be controlled opposition for the United States. That's how they pulled off the Cold war which was a political circle jerk, that's how they pulled off the new Cold war between Russia and the United States, that's how they will continue to deceive you. Most of the general public have no idea what World they're living in and how it works. Sheeple

[@Tay58382]

What the hell are you talking about, they're a big joke that's it !

[@espido]

Yeap like the sputnik..

[@matyasfried8510]

@@Tay58382 Joke? Do you know how many scientist and enginers were working in the program. All the ideas, all the constructs. Some of the people dedicated their lives for it. Yes the program served a great propaganda for the commies but you cannot just say it was all a joke.

[@rocketdyneF1]

I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to make this in KSP.

[@simongeard4824]

Oh, I've tried... but the idea doesn't even work well in KSP, so you can imagine how much worse it is in reality.

[@Syllaren]

Ksp unfortunately doesn't focus on water physics enough to do things like this. Was hoping 2 would change this, but looks like not 😢

[@simongraham1454]

I've tried too. It's pretty hard.

[@MeatgettiAndSpagballs]

I'll do it in SP

[@ScootyPuffJrSux]

You can make a working hydrofoil, I've done it and I'm not a great builder, but absolutely not one of this size

[@ProvidenceVFX]

This is nuts! Awesome animation as always!

[@N9GamingOfficial]

He can't keep getting away with these!!! (please keep making these I love them a lot)

[@Norantio]

The music really made this. Also, the animation made this. You knocked it out of the park again!

[@damnyankee656]

When I was in my adolescence. My father helped me build a model rocket that looked identical to this one. It was manufactured by Estes. The name was the SST. The smaller glider was exactly that. Meant to separate after a certain altitude. It never was launched and the tragegectory would have placed it over down town Scarsdale in the evening. It used one large D engine

[@jamesgibson3582]

Exactly what I was thinking. It was one of my favourite models.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

Super sim of the craft lifting out of the water, the lurch and first tentativeness, a sense of mass accelerating, excellent. What a crazy system but I like it.

[@aboutpeopleplacesthings8375]

I think the entire spacecraft should be modular and carried by hundreds and hundreds of smaller boats so that it can be transported through canals and hidden in bayous and swamps. Then, the smaller boats can come together, reassemble the spacecraft, fasten all the smaller boats to get her to make the same platform, and launch it that way. There, THAT should make it ridiculously more complicated.

[@u9Nails]

I love this idea! Harks back to the cartoon days of watching robots turn into a giant machine. Just needs pins and gears and loud theme music to interrupt a love triangle.

[@bryanillenberg]

Don't forget the mandatory disassembly to check for errors in the first assembly! (See also: The actual Space Shuttle)

[@user-ee6gj1ld5p]

После того как появились электроника и дроны сложные вещи перестали быть сложными.

[@charles84burke]

The added weight of the ship, the drag of the ship in water, the absorbent amount of wasted fuel and the amount of damage the ship would take from the propulsion, and then the fact that you would need the calmest ocean water to ever exist to launch would make this a bad idea. It is an interesting concept and i applaud your effort and hardwork in making this. Keep up the good work and hope you do have many more ideas to share

[@brianarbenz1329]

Why take off on a stable flat runway when you take off on unpredictability choppy and bobbing water?

[@user-ee6gj1ld5p]

Так корабль не в воде, первая ступень в воде.

[@skrape99]

What a bonkers concept! Thank you so much for bringing it to us.

[@blackshogun272]

I wonder if this wound work on a world like Earth but with lower gravity (-30% or more) ?

[@jogitoegosum]

Wow! Didn't know about that project! Insane! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@xrayaiz74]

What the heck?! Was this for real? It's cool and bizarre at the same time. But, using the barge as a fuel tank would explain why it took so long for separation before going vertical. It would make for a unique launch experience. Awesome effects (love the water splash on the camera lens).🚀

[@nigelmoore957]

Great video as usual. I know these are all concepts but at the same time I can't help but think you would be better off using a track system on land.

[@_aullik]

Not really. The point here is that you want to recover the first stage on land. So you either put a big track on land and a big landing strip on the sea (imagine twice the size of an aircraft carrier) or you do it like this and have a simple long landing strip on land.

[@Desrtfox71]

This will never get to any kind of speed necessary to launch the first stage though.@@_aullik

[@MrCateagle]

Like that of Sanger's Silbervogel, that used "When World's Collide", or that used by "Fireball XL-5"?

[@nigelmoore957]

Exactly what I was thinking of!@@MrCateagle

[@nigelmoore957]

Yes, I understand the reusability factor. But think about the amount of fuel being burnt to get the hydrofoil platform up to speed before release. Trying to launch in tat way also has too many unknowns@@_aullik

[@randycampbell6307]

Totally awesome video (as usual) for a totally unworkable LV but I love it! Don't suppose we can get the US "10 ton Reusable Orbital Carrier Rocket" next? Gotta give rails some loving too :)

[@user-gb7vy4is8c]

СПАСИБО ЗА ВИДЕО, ОТЛИЧНАЯ РАБОТА!!!

[@berthageorge2627]

As long as there is NO traffic,on the ocean or in the air..... impressive and a great show !❤️👍😊

[@Xanderviceory]

the fact you even included the bubbles coming from the cavitation caused by the hydrofoils shows how much you understand about these things.

[@Calypso993]

Im thinking it would be better to attach a pair of big SRBs to the hull on the sides to get it going and up to speed. also im noticing the hull is self propelled, would be better to have it towed., and save weight, complexity and cost on the hull

[@Cosmic_Encryption]

Yeah , unless it consumes vast amount of fuel before launch the rocket

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

Imagine being the crew of the ship and being told you are transporting the thing to the launch site. If you didn’t notice the hydrofoils you would have no idea that you were going to be part of the launch

[@rlarno]

Love the animation and style. Awesome work. Reading the description was next level.

[@MrEurypterid]

Utterly brilliant. Let's revel in its quirks. I was confident that the barge kept everything topped up until separation.

[@user-ee6gj1ld5p]

В том и смысл, а если сочетать это с экранопланом или судном, которое использует и подводные крылья и эффект экрана, эффективность вырастет ещё выше. Я молчу о том, что это может быть морской старт на самом удобной для запуска в широте.

[@u1zha]

This is so metal... Good music choice for once ;) The suspense, waiting for the ship to pick up speed and the pucker factor of it rocking in the waves...

[@keiththorpe9571]

As always, the animation is awesome, I love it! That said, however, I just don't see the advantage in a launch system that requires a floating hydrofoil platform to be dragged through the water, accelerating up to takeoff velocity which would have to be well over 120 knots. In fact, I think it would be a huge disadvantage, limiting lift capacity significantly. Now, a system like that taking off from a vertical position...or a horizontal takeoff from an airstrip, that would certainly lend huge capacity advantage. However, awesome video, your clips are always just the best! You are a true artist of the medium! Keep 'em coming, I love them, even the more fanciful ones...actually, especially the more fanciful ones!

[@joaopaulor5649]

180 km/h is 97 knots

[@jasperzanjani]

love the wave graphics and the way the ship rocks in the ocean

[@CoderXYZ7]

I love these designs from the good old days

[@stuartyoung4182]

I once read somewhere that if a launch pad could "throw" a booster into the air at some threshold speed, it would in-essence "add" a significant percentage of delta-V back into the total system in-flight which would have otherwise "been wasted" just to move the first few feet off of the pad. I haven't been able to find that exact source. Extrapolating from another source I've found seems to indicate that it might save 1.7 % of the system's delta-V, but that's based on a linear extrapolation - which is probably NOT how launch vehicles actually work. I'm WAY out of my league here, math-skills-wise! Regardless, AWESOME animation (as always!) of a space-launcher concept with which I was previously unfamiliar! Plus I happen to like "synthwave", so rather enjoyed the music!

[@hamzahkhan8952]

im pretty some version of that is used on small sea-launched rocket from japan or china. also "throwing" this rocket up would be impossible for 2 reasons: 1) its a spaceplane that needs to generate lift to fly. 2) it absolutely MASSIVE. i dont think any mechanism has ever been designed to "throw" up that much mass.

[@Madhuntr]

this thing was an actual concept????. Damn its horribly inefficient i imagine XD

[@tiodrakul]

That was the most kerbal launch I've seen in a long time haha

[@DOSFS]

AWESOME!! Even if I didn't sure fighting water resistance is a good idea for extra fuel on the boat-----

[@malber1964]

Absolutely cool concept.! This could eliminate the need for a land launch pad and allow for airstrip landings for likely both booster and ship.

[@McDonnellDouglasMD11a183]

Awesome!

[@adonaisf]

This channel is amazing

[@scottkindorf1509]

This gave me massive Century21 Productions feels ("Stingray", "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlett" "UFO").

[@craigw.scribner6490]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@user-bj7cp6hm3q]

Наши поржали когда такой вариант предлагали. Он дальше эскизов не пошел. Был вариант с экранопланом, вот он мог идти в 400 узлов.

Man, you are amazing. Incredible job

[@morgan1719]

Every project in need of funding should have a video like this! Where do I send my money?

[@rajanraja8147]

The BGM SOUND IS VERY ENJOYABLE TO HEAR. 👏👏

[@user-sw4le3nc4k]

Очень хороший вариант запуска аппаратов на орбиту , во первых нет необходимости строить космодром , во вторых стоимость обслуживания на много экономичная , в третьих , если все агрегаты многоразовые это просто конфетка!

[@SeloUrala]

это называется технологии, типа как Москвич и Bently).

[@canopus5498]

wow this has got to be one of the most out there ideas to launch a rocket

[@nickp1987]

That is so convoluted, overly complicated, impractical and dumb. I love it.

[@guitarazn90210]

Definitely one of the ideas of all time

[@coffeefeen4883]

I got excited for a second imagining a flying sailboat ⛵

[@badgerello]

Imagine you’re out fishing one morning and you see this thing barrelling towards you with no context.

[@chrisjenkins9978]

Genius idea. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👍🏽

[@MohamedNorAzhar]

Impressed with the animation, down to the water drops details on the supposedly camera lens 👍🏻😄

[@BobTaile]

Wild idea, put to a committee for discussion. Even wilder idea approved and there's the perfect cimmittee designed result. Nice graphics though pals 💛✅️

[@fyx812]

PLEASE, you Guys, Don't Show Anybody in a Developing Committee this!! ESPECIALLY A GOVERNMENT FUNDED PROJECT!!!!!! This Administration would Absolutely BANKRUPT America to Line Their Pockets With Untold BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. While the average American Taxpayer would be Struggling to Make it to their next Paycheck!!!!!!!

[@blackasp001]

Love it! Just for the quirkiness of the whole idea

[@inkjoestar5683]

Another awesome vid, keep it up!

[@toddmoore5275]

It’s not too often I really enjoy watching the same clip multiple times This is hawt

[@robertcloonan6346]

Wonderful concept!

[@WolfeSaber9933]

I guess I wasn't crazy when I thought about the idea of a space craft that uses ground effect on the ocean surface. Just, I wasn't going to have it use rockets to get up to speed on the ocean surface.

[@susannell544]

The way it lifts out of the water is unreal

[@garyhervig3327]

This is hilarious, was great for a morning laugh!

[@1fnjo790]

Dick Dastardly, "Hydro-foiled again!" Muttley , " Snicker , Snicker"

[@RaderGH]

How many concepts can you roll into one launch system? Hydrofoils, check. Ground effect, check. Rockets, check. Space planes, check...did we leave out anything. lol

[@paulgrove1407]

From the starting run, to the second stage release - so many ways to die...

[@michaelbeever7592]

I'll be sure to invite them to my next Fish Fry!!😂

[@thomasraju6006]

Now this is called a "space-ship".. Makes total sense lol

[@andradedenis5842]

Égoïstement c'est le top ! Le moindre monstre marin peut néanmoins changer, chanter, le cours du destin aussi le sien.

[@phoenics2465]

I am in love with those engine plumes

[@thomasafb]

water spray -> ice formation -> ice breaking off -> ice hitting heat shield -> Columbia

[@bbartky]

This is absolutely insane. And I absolutely love it. 😂

[@user-bh1rg4cr5c]

This is impressive!

[@geoyouaccount]

Great work, Looks real 👍

[@MrBubbleJet]

A very Kerbal way to lift off!

[@socrates112]

Amazing videos. Well done.

[@FarmerDrew]

Rocket exhaust melts the ship as it lifts off, making for an environmentally friendly reef installation

[@roslyntaber9580]

Dwayne mon merveilleux amour love so lifftof with u Dwayne Elliot its really so beautiful here so magic and always so moving Dwayne chéri ...

[@pontuswendt2486]

AMAZINGNES!!!

[@Web-Dev-Codi]

I thought this was real at first. Good CGI wow. Impressive

[@richardm.newlands2417]

We can assume they knew rather a lot about hydroskis (not hydrofoils), and more importantly a hell of a lot about Ekranoplans. The large car-ferrying hovercraft that used to cross the English channel (La Manche) achieved 80 knots during testing. In the early '50's both the British Saunders-Roe Project 121, and the American Convair F2Y Sea Dart, used hydroskis (water-skis) for takeoff of those jet fighters. I hear Americans calling this idea crazy - and then proposing the use of solid boosters on manned spaceplanes. The irony ;-)

[@hellephant4268]

The creator was highly impressed with his water on the screen effect.

[@kalabhussain]

Creative and innovative... 👏

[@skrape99]

That rusty surplus hull probably never broke 10 kn in his life, now it's like "wahooooo!"

[@Macionik]

As a Kerbal Space Program player, I see no flaws in this design. That means it can go wrong at by least 25 different ways.

[@CraigCholar]

So glad to see a Hazegreyart video go viral! 2.1 million views in just a few days! 👏

[@CATDRL2]

A Ship that launches a Ship that launches a Ship....brilliant.

[@Infinite_Maelstrom]

This is absurd and I love it

[@treekangaroo.7691]

this looks like something i'd doodle when i was 14

[@user-wi1fu2cp8v]

Хороший стёб с кораблем :)

[@trong-tinnguyen1962]

Interesting design!

[@DaysOfFunder]

Unreal render and a concept to make musk jealous!

[@DaysOfFunder]

Sorry by "unreal" I meant "insane" not the game engine

[@GrantvsMaximvs]

Love your concepts,and I've been building some in JNO

[@johnnydeppsky3510]

Please note that Sukhoi has absolutely nothing to do with this project! It was developed in 1970-1973 by a group of students (!) of MVTU* as a course project (!) under the supervision of an eccentric professor. *now Moscow State Technical University. In fact those students themselves questioned the viability of such a lift-off system but the professor insisted. There’s an article in Flieger Revue 80 about it with the reference to the original developers (students). It is also appropriate to note that as a side project the students also worked on the Ekranoplan lift off system (the one that doesn’t touch water) but that project wasn’t presented to the public at the time. Please thumbs up since it has to be a public knowledge. If any questions I’m happy to answer since I know one of the developers persona

[@ajds]

At first I was like 'oh they are transporting it to the runway' then I was like 'whoops the engine lit by mistake' then I was like 'a... hydrofoil?!?' but the music was terrific and the visuals as always were amazing. Elon may like the hydrofoil idea.

[@robotlunchbox]

Reminiscent in its complexity of the SHIELD helicarrier

[@DrCrich2011]

This is taking us several steps BACKWARDS..in technology

[@Dive_Me_Crazy]

Love it! Total disregard for the laws of physics, now thats how art should be.

[@Wayoutthere]

This is TOTALLY BADASS, Impractical af, but cool. Perhaps for low Grav waterworlds?