Sir Richard Branson is back to his old tricks and is keen to take on yet another adventure, exploring the deep blue sea. He’s got himself a one man submarine and he’s keen to test whether it can withstand the rigours (not to mention the pressure) of the ocean. Deviating from his usual bold red, the sub is royal blue in colour and weighs 8000 lbs. It has 24 hours worth of life support, which is not as reassuring as it could be, considering that the captain is going to be diving 11 km towards the deepest place on earth: the bottom of the ocean.
The Mission? To Go Boldly Where No Other Mad Man Has Ever Wanted to Go Before!
Using composite technology and a completely unique ‘flying’ wing, it takes its inspiration from whales and dolphins who have shown us that their winged approach is by far the most efficient way to tackle the ocean depths. Made from incredibly light carbon fibre and titanium, the craft is engineered to withstand 1,000 atmospheres and has a cruising speed of 2.2 knots. The quarts dome of the sub will be under an expected 13 million pounds of pressure, which according to Virgin is the weight of three space shuttles. With Virgin Galactic already underway, you don’t need to ask how they managed to find out how much a space shuttle weighs. (This authoress is still clueless).
The sub’s designer is Graham Hawkes and it is the only submarine in existence that has full ocean depth capability. The operating depth is up to 7 miles or 37,000ft and this distance can be accomplished full circle by the craft in approximately 5 hours.
Fact: The Sub Has to Withstand Pressures 1500 Times that of a Conventional Aircraft
Chris Welch, entrepreneur, aviator and sailor, will be piloting one sub, whilst Sir Richard takes command of the second. There are another 11 members which make up Virgin Oceanic’s operations team.
This venture has scientists all over the world incredibly excited because for the first time in history, the deepest trenches in all of the earth’s five oceans will be available for research. From surveying, to mapping, sampling to photography, this will be an unprecedented journey of discovery. A specially designed catamaran will take the submarines and crew out to the Mariana Trench, one of the least explored places on earth, to complete their first dive in late 2011.
Whilst Virgin will indeed be joining the mile low club, it should be noted that only one person at a time will be able to join its ranks.
Sources:
- www.virginoceanic.com
Ann Davey - Based in the UK, Anne is a Gemini and you can guarantee that she'll always have something new to say...
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