ROCKET CATCHER (Jan, 1953)
ROCKET CATCHER
IF and when space travel becomes a reality, there’ll be the problem of landing high-speed rocket ships. D. B. Driskill of San Francisco thinks he has the answer in his U. S. Patent 2,592,873. He would build a system of telescoping tubes butted against a mountainside or mounted on skis or a train platform. The rocket ship would be guided into the end of the outer tube by radar. This tube would slide into the second tube, braked by air pressure, and then into the main tube. When pressure between the tubes is released, passengers would leave through doors in their walls.
Patent here http://www.google.com/patents/.....dq=2592873
Comment by Firebrand38 — March 15, 2010 @ 8:01 am
I can just imagine the headlines – “Returing Moon Rocket Crash Blamed on Sneezing Sheep.”
NASA’s motto “Missed it by that much.”
Comment by Toronto — March 15, 2010 @ 8:47 am
An excellent follow-up to “So You Want to Have a Love Affair?”
Comment by Naked Bunny with a Whip — March 15, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Sorta like an inverted supergun? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergun
Comment by Christoph Geisler — March 15, 2010 @ 11:04 am
Who’s gonna want to live in that house, knowing that a speeding rocket is flying that close?
Comment by Rick Auricchio — March 15, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
Its ridiculously impractical, unbelievably dangerous, and overtly sexual, all at the same time.
Comment by John M. Hanna — March 15, 2010 @ 6:21 pm
Ole D.B. came up with this idea when his wife commented on his “coming too fast” problem.
Comment by carlm — March 15, 2010 @ 10:55 pm
“Its ridiculously impractical, unbelievably dangerous, and overtly sexual, all at the same time.”
Just like sex.
Comment by Noob — March 16, 2010 @ 1:23 am
Toronto: I didn’t know Maxwell Smart was a NASA spokesperson
Comment by Jari — March 16, 2010 @ 10:16 am
“Its ridiculously impractical, unbelievably dangerous, and overtly sexual, all at the same time.”
Are we talking about the rocket catcher or the issue cover?
Comment by Snark — March 18, 2010 @ 3:45 am
@Snark: YES!
Comment by Don — March 18, 2010 @ 6:44 am
In the main picture there are supports holding up each tube section. In the landed picture the supports are gone. Where did they go?
Comment by darren — October 27, 2010 @ 7:19 pm
The rocket actually doesn’t start to slow down until it reaches the second tube section (before that it’s just going down a pipe). I assume the rocket is coming in at approx 500km/h and has to stop in about 150 metres (max). Anyone know roughly what force that would be on the passengers?
Also what happens if the parachute gets caught on the end of the train? I assume it just gets ripped off.
Comment by darren — October 27, 2010 @ 7:26 pm
darren: #12 knocked to the sides by rockets wings? #13 I was going to write a longer answer, but have you ever seen this kind of contraption catching rockets anywhere in the world? That moots all of your questions, as it just doesn’t work.
Comment by Jari — October 28, 2010 @ 11:20 am