Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1998)

INVESTMENT IN DESIGN mating with the Sea Launch rock- et.

In a system which differs from conventional practice by effecting integration in a horizontal rather than a vertical position, the encap- sulated payload will subsequently be rolled-out to the ACS, and com- bined with the launch vehicle on the ship. Subsequently, the ACS will be moved around the finger pier and stern to the launch plat- form, and the complete, integrated unit will be transferred from the command vessel by means of an onboard crane. The convoy will put out for the ocean launch loca- tion with the rocket and satellite housed during transit in the plat- form's large, environmentally-con- trolled hangar. A mobile trans- porter and erector system will be employed to roll-out and hoist the rocket into launch position prior to fueling and dispatch. Storage capacity and system design aboard the Odyssey is such as to ensure sufficient rocket fuel and oxidizer for two launches, such that each mission will have fuel enough for a second attempt in the event of a launch having to be aborted. The designers of the system say that

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Torsional Coupling & Shafting Systems For Ship Propulsion Systems & Service Machinery • Centa's product line consists of 16 product families satisfying the 50 to 22,000 BHP (40 to 120,000 Ft-Lb) range. • Centa's unique shafting products operate in the 10 to 18,500 BHP (7 to 88,400 Ft-Lb) range where mission requirements demand ultra-quiet, zero maintenance torque transmission. Shafting material is of aluminum, precision extruded steel and carbon fiber composite. • Centa's line of centrifugally activated clutches answer power requirements up to 800 BHP (1800 Ft-Lb) range. • Centa often combines couplings, shafts, and/or clutches to create custom integrated power transmission systems complete from driving to driven machinery.

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Tel. (630) 769-5167 Fax. (630) 769-5169 the semi-submersible will allow for launches in wave heights up to 10 ft. (3m), and that studies indicate a weather availability for the launching of 95 percent-plus for the area concerned. Environ- mental data is continuously being gathered from a weather buoy positioned in the launch area.

The multifunctional ACS, which will take personnel off the Odyssey in the period immediately preced- ing the launch, incorporates a state-of-the-art mission command room equipped for remote control of the rocket launching procedure and for mission monitoring. Such is the colossal rate of dispatch that the rocket will be in orbit over

South America only 32 seconds after lift-off on the Equatorial belt in the Kiribati region.

Kvaerner Maritime had initially considered a Norwegian-built 42,000-gt RoRo vessel type as the possible basis for the Sea Launch

Commander, but subsequently opted for a tailor-made, entirely original design in the light of the specific and unique needs of the project. One of the most astonish- ing aspects of the resulting, 667-ft. (203-m) ACS is its huge internal volume used as a hangar and mat- ing point for rockets and satellites, subdivided by partial transverse bulkheads and sliding doors into four compartments, for rocket assembly, spacecraft handling, third stage processing and fuelling. The hangar hold has been dimensioned for secure stor- age of three rockets, accessed via a 157.5-ft. (48-m) long stern ramp and watertight door, both supplied by Kvaerner Ships Equipment.

The ramp can be adjusted to suit varying wharf heights and has a minimum 26.2 ft. (8 m) driveway width to accommodate a 190-ton load. The fine hull form, with a block coefficient of 0.57, and main machinery comprised of two eight- cylinder Wartsila 46 engines deliv- ering a total of some 21,000-bhp through reduction gearing to a sin- gle controllable pitch propeller, should ensure speeds up to 21- knots. For station-keeping, two

Kamewa bow thrusters and a retractable compass thruster are operated by electronic signals through the dynamic positioning system, while manoeuvrability is also considerably enhanced through the adoption of a Becker rudder. Two independent, high- speed digital radio communication link systems are installed for remote launch operations from the

ACS, potentially with the mother- ship at a distance of 20-km from the platform.

Circle 220 on Reader Service Card