The Alexeev/Sukhoi Albatross launch system was proposed in 1974 with the intention of launching Soviet space shuttles on a carrier shuttle that would be launched behind a hydrofoil barge. This system has never been implemented in the real world, but this is what it is. The YouTube channel "Hazegrayart" has produced over 100 beautifully rendered videos imagining the launch or operation of some of the weirdest aircraft and spacecraft ever proposed in reality or science fiction.
The channel's latest video envisions a Soviet-era space shuttle launch plan jointly proposed by aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi, best known for its jet fighters, and hydrofoil/ground-effect vehicle expert Rostislav Alexeyev.
According to Astronautix, the Alexeev/Sukhoi "Albatross" is a three-stage space shuttle launch system that can send space shuttles into the sky without the need for a launch pad or even a runway. All levels are recyclable and reusable.
The system was proposed in 1974 and is based on a 70-meter (229-foot), 2,000-ton hydrofoil barge called the Albatross Power Module. On its back, it will carry a 91-meter (298-foot) delta-winged Albatross launch vehicle. The Albatross launch vehicle, fully loaded with fuel, weighs 1,250 tons. Its liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen rocket can generate 7.84 million kilonewtons (1.7625 million pounds) of thrust.
Behind it sits the smaller 49-meter (160-foot) long Raketoplan space shuttle, which weighs just 320 tons when fully loaded with fuel and has its own 1.96 million kN (440,620-pound) rocket.
The plan calls for a second-stage carrier-based aircraft to launch rockets and refuel using 180 tons of reserve fuel on the barge. This will accelerate the barge to hydrofoil speed, where drag is significantly reduced, and the barge will then reach a launch speed of about 180 km/h (112 mph), less than two minutes before the rocket launches.
At this time, the lift under the wings of the carrier-based aircraft is enough to lift the space shuttle into the air. Before the space shuttle separates, the carrier-based aircraft will send the space shuttle to a high altitude, and then continue to fly to orbit driven by its own rocket power, while the carrier-based aircraft will glide back to the earth for landing.
This very bizarre suggestion was never adopted - which is just as well, because Alexeyev should have known that hydrofoil gliding becomes very dangerous above 113 kilometers (70 miles) per hour. At these speeds, the low-pressure area on the hydrofoil's "airfoil" drops to a pressure low enough that the water begins to boil.
This is called cavitation, which creates pockets of water vapor in the water that collapse when the pressure returns to normal, creating a shock wave. High-velocity cavitation can bend, damage, and fatigue hydrofoils—which may not be ideal if they're carrying priceless space shuttles and launch vehicles.
Still, enjoy Hazegrayart’s rendering of the launch process below.