UC3 Nautilus
Encyclopedia
UC3 Nautilus is a privately-built Danish submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. It was launched on 3 May 2008 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It was built over a three year period as an art/hobby project by Peter Madsen and a group of volunteers, and cost approximately US$200,000 to build (1.5 million DKK
Danish krone
The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
).
This submarine was Peter Madsen's third submarine design and is the largest privately-built submarine in the world.
Launch
On launch day, the submarine displaced only 32 tons and was still incomplete. Nautilus was named at a well-attended ceremony on the west side of Refshaleøen and towed to the floating installation artInstallation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
barge ILLUTRON (formerly M/S Half Machine) in the Copenhagen South Harbor where further outfitting and installation of equipment happened over the next several months.
By August 2008, Nautilus could sail on its own, as steering and the main diesel engine drivetrain was completed. On the maiden voyage the submarine was sailed by a crew almost all from the now-defunct Royal Danish Navy
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
submarine division. The objective was to sail the submarine and evaluate her maneuverability, and the appraisal was favorable. In October 2008 Nautilus was submerged for the first time.
Specifications
Nautilus can be crewed by up to eight people for surface operation and four when diving. Nautilus moves at five to six knots, depending on the weather and whether it is up on the surface or submerged.The boat has two 1,500-liter tanks with fresh water and fuel. Trim
Trim
Trim may refer to:* Cutting small pieces off something** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process** Editing*** Editing a posting style in online discourse** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees-Places:...
ming can be carried out with an electric pump, which is normal procedure, or with compressed air as fall-back, if the trim-pump fails. The main ballast tanks, of 8,000 liters, are always filled and emptied with compressed air, and can flush up to 400 liters of water in/out per second. Nautilus can go from sailing on the surface, to periscope depth in approximately 20 seconds. The boat has a theoretical collapse depth of between 400–500 m (1,312.3–1,640.4 ft), but, as a precaution, the submarine only nominally dives to 100 m (328.1 ft).
There are no torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s or any other forms of armaments, but Nautilus has 16 porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
s (8 on each side, 2 of which oversize) for direct observation. The periscope has 5 video cameras, providing 360 degree panoramic vision on video screens in the forward control room (beneath the deck hatch.) The Engine room has two diesel engines, only one of which are for direct propulsion. The other drives a 3-phase electric generator providing power for the onboard air compressor and battery charger. There are more than a tonne of large 12 volt batteries on board (aft in engine compartment,) supplying the electric DC engine which can be operated alone or in tandem with the main diesel engine on a chain-coupled drivetrain for turning the 80 kilogram, five-bladed brass propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
. Joystick-controlled electric servos operates the rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
(aft) and hydroplane
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
s (front).
Nautilus is almost half the size of the Danish Tumleren
Kobben class submarine
The Kobben class or Type 207 is a version of the German Type 205 submarine customized for use by the Royal Norwegian Navy.- History :...
class submarine. Almost half as long, half as wide, moving at about half the speed, and is staffed by only around half as many crew members. In the spring of 2009 the automatic snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
system was installed, so the submarine could sail submerged on diesel power, and in August 2009 the submarine sailed out from the Port of Køge
Køge
Køge Municipality is a municipality in Region Sjælland on the east coast of the island of Zealand approx. 40 km. southwest of Copenhagen. The municipality covers an area of 255 km² , and has a total population of 56,637...
submerged.
Nautilus can be operated by a single person from the control room. All controls and indicators for buoyancy, pumps, engines, air pressure, communication, video and other electric systems are accessible from the captain's seat. However, as of July 2010 crew in Engine room still need to perform manual changeover from surface to dive-ready configuration, setting valves correctly for snorkel and diesel engine exhaust.
Nautilus can function on her diesel engine for up to eight minutes underwater, but air pressure drops to close to that at 10,000 feet above sea level as the engine ingests air from the crew compartment. When using her electric motor for underwater propulsion no such pressure change occurs.
Missions
On a 2009 trip around Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, the submarine was visited by a group of submarine fans from Subsim.com, that for a day swapped the computer simulatedSimulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
submarine operations, for real submarine operations. Game developers from Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
were also on board to find inspiration for their submarine computer game, Silent Hunter
Silent Hunter
Silent Hunter is a World War II submarine combat simulation for MS-DOS, developed by Aeon Electronic Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. The game takes place in the Pacific War during World War II, the player commanding a submarine of the United States Navy. Most...
. They wanted to operate valve
Valve
A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category...
s and ballast
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
systems themselves.
Today, Nautilus is used by her builders and various others for recreation and expeditions.
One such expedition is the attempted launch of the rocket and spacecraft HEAT1X-TYCHO BRAHE built by Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
non-profit rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
group Copenhagen Suborbitals
Copenhagen Suborbitals
Copenhagen Suborbitals is a non-profit organization working towards suborbital manned spaceflight. Founded in 2008 by Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen the project has accomplished a successful sea launch of a test hybrid rocket, carrying a full scale human model...
. On Tuesday 31 August 2010, the UC3 Nautilus pushed the launch platform Sputnik carrying the rocket and spacecraft from Copenhagen towards the launch area near Nexø
Nexø
Nexø is a town on the eastern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. With a population of 3,762 , it is the second largest town, as well as the largest fishing port on the island. Fishing is the mainstay of the town economy. Nexø is also the site of a distillery and a mustard factory...
, Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
.
In January 2011 Nautilus returned to Refshaleøen and will be put on shore for upgrades and an overhaul expected to last several months.