Sea Dragon Rocket: Worlds Largest Reusable Rocket Concept

Sea Dragon was a 1962 concept for a reusable, two-stage, sea-launched carrier rocket. The project never materialised as NASA's Future Projects Branch was shut down in 1965. It would have been the largest rocket ever built.

[donboo]

The only thing missing is the song Everybody Wants to Rule the World.

[goldbird]

Some rockets used at-sea level engines, this one uses, in-sea engines

[Sir_Uncle_Ned]

It seriously cannot be understated how gargantuan this concept rocket is. The thing could lob 550 tonnes into LEO. For 1962 that is just incredible. For comparison, the Saturn 5 can only lob up 140 tonnes to LEO.

It would be supported by a nuclear powered ship carrying RP-1. The liquid Nitrogen and Oxygen would be produced at the launchsite. - It is estimated that due to in situ fuel production and simplicity of being the textbook big dumb booster, that payload costs could be as little as $60.00 per kilogram. It ultimately proved way too large to be of any practical use - even to this day.

And yes, that is a single engine bell that dwarfs the mighty F-1 in terms of both size and thrust.

[Frontier]

"Ha, I touched the butt"

*_nemo was burnt to a crisp the same second_*

[stuartyoung]

Awesome liftoff - both as depicted underwater, and from the surface (the underwater flashes and the massive swell before the Sea Dragon exited the water)!

[cptnemokl]

This has got to be my favorite never-built rocket design from the pre-Apollo/Apollo era. Launched from the sea, massive payload, and K.I.S.S. Thanks for bringing it to life!

[abex-aerospace]

My grandfather tried to create a rocket engine all his life (he was an engineer and chemist), when he was close to creating a functional engine he unfortunately died of old age, Now I'm trying to continue his project.

[beogradskivremeplov]

This thing just showed up in the end of S01E10 of "For All Mankind". Very cool animation.

[yumazster]

I was waiting for someone to dare do the Sea Dragon. The NASA sketches looked over the top but this animation conveys that this monster could have been real. Great stuff!

[touchdownConfirmed]

With escape tower and half the rocket above water level, your animation is even more accurate than AppleTV+'s 👌

[GumballAstronaut]

The Sea Dragon is the rocket definition of Overkill

[UNSCPILOT]

The ever so spectacular, and monstrously massive classic Seadragon, it may be called a "big dumb booster" but it would have been a spectacle for sure and perhaps it would have been pushing us much further out than we are now

[guillermuin]

Can you do the Energia II concept or Nasa Nova?

[briansmithbeta]

I missed this when it was published but I’ve loved the Sea Dragon concept ever since I first heard about it. To see it rendered like this just made me unspeakably happy. I’d give 1000 Likes if I could. I had no idea the staging worked like that. Amazing!

[eannamcnamara]

When you download Procedural parts for the first time.

[codedlogic]

The first stage rocket nozzle being tucked into the second stage nozzle is quite brilliant - and it flares out wider to be vacuumed optimized. Was this part of the original plan or just some brilliant creative license?

[rainturtle]

This video is fantastic! It really brings the concept to life Bob Truax would be proud!

[gateclamp]

ok lets crowd fund this and get elon to build it for fun

[Bugatti]

Great work, please keep the video's coming. This gives insight on how these rockets would have worked (for example the deployed secondstage nozzle)

[Matt]

2:45 "And Houston, Sea Dragon 1, we have successful condom deployment."