BACKGROUND OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Rocket reusability is becoming an important aspect of space company's efforts to reduce launch cost. SpaceX has used a ship with a large net built on the back to catch their rocket fairings as they descend toward the ocean, United Launch Alliance is planning to catch and recover rocket engines, and Rocket Lab has announced that they will catch and reuse their boosters. It is important that these components do not come in contact with the ocean, as this would damage them and increase refurbishment cost. Rocket components often descend via a parachute making it very difficult to predict the exact location where they will land as well as making it difficult to catch them. To improve the likelihood of making a successful catch, a vessel is needed that is highly maneuverable and capable of quick lateral accelerations. This will make it much easier to position the vessel directly underneath the rocket component as it lands.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The embodiments of the present invention include a novel rotatable hull10that is capable of rotating around a nominally vertical axis at an attachment point where it is connected to a vessel. The rotatable hull preferably includes a propulsion system and appendage12. A plurality of rotatable hulls can be arranged in a triangular, square or any other stable geometric configuration, and attached together using cross beams or some other structure to form a vessel. Each hull is capable of rotating independently. Vectoring thrust from a motor, which may be either inboard or outboard, may be used to rotate a hull. Other embodiments may use a rudder, ring gear or hydraulic ram to rotate a hull about its nominally vertical axis. Hydrofoils may also be attached to a hull to provide lift, to improve maneuverability, or to improve performance in waves.

Other embodiments of a rotatable hull may comprise hull shapes designed to operate beneath the surface of the water. A subsurface rotatable hull30(shown inFIGS. 12 and 13) may be attached to a vessel or structure by a nominally vertical strut20. A vertical strut20may support one or more hulls that can be designed to operate either on or below the surface of the water. A plurality of hulls may be used to control flotation height by providing varying amounts of displacement at different altitudes.

Some embodiments may comprise a hydrofoil21(shown inFIG. 9) that has a vertical lift component and is attached to the hull or nominally vertical strut20. Hydrofoils have the ability to reduce drag, increase top speed, provide better fuel efficiency and improve seakeeping. Some embodiments may also comprise a system to control hydrofoil pitch.

The embodiments of the present invention also comprise the design of a vessel, which employs a plurality of rotatable hulls connected by beams. This vessel may be designed in a variety of configurations such as a triangle or tripod, square, X, catamaran, trimaran or other embodiment and comprise one or more propulsion systems, which may be mounted to the rotatable hulls or elsewhere. A vessel, by rotating the hulls, can perform turns in a sway motion without changing the yaw axis orientation of the connecting structure. This vessel may comprise a support structure for a net or other device for catching objects. Detachable beams may be used to make the vessel easy to disassemble for transportation or storage.

