Stealth Rocket Launcher

Military satellites are critical in case of a dispute. In case of an emergency new satellites need to be launched safely. The well-known positions of launch sites make them vulnerable. I thought about a stealth submarine to accomplish such tasks. Its partly based on the Swedish submarine that sank US aircraft carrier during an exercise. (A Swedish Stealth Submarine Sank A U.S. Aircraft Carrier).

A typical submarines length can easily exceed 100 meters. On the other hand, the height of Falcon 9 is 70 meters. The diameter of a typical submarine is larger than 10 meters; Falcon 9’s is 3.7 meters. The submarine I propose will have the rocket placed on its upper haul. Beneath the rocket there would be fuel and oxidizer tanks. The front section of the sub will be a rotatable nose cone with internal ballast tank. The rear section of the sub will accommodate the control room and the electric generators. Four brushless dc motors will be strapped externally to the back of the sub. This design will eliminate the need for rudders and the submarine will operate like ROVs.

The stealth of the submarine will be achieved by the internal electric generation using fuel and oxidizer. This proved the be more silent than a nuclear submarine. As a fuel I propose RP1 and LOX as the oxidizer. This will allow the submarine launch site to fuel the rocket and the submarine with the same propellants.

When the sub arrives at the launch site. It will surface and empty the ballast tank on its nose. Afterwards, the submarine will raise its nose while folding it downward. The empty nose will establish the launch angle for the rocket. Then, the rocket will be launched. Launching from an enclosed tube will add positive to the rockets initial thrust.