Humans are the species of adventurers. We want to explore and be inspired by the journey of the unknown. Science is not just a matter of reasons, but also one of romance and passion. Exploration by people who inspire us.Quote the words of Stephen Hawking was published in Oceanic Virgin website. Hawking, the scientist who recently wrote the famous book titled Grand Design, a carrier element of team spirit to realize the jet submarine named Virgin Oceanic. Ambitious project is inspired by the desire of Stephen Hawking is going to adventure on the five world's deepest ocean trenches with Virgin Oceanic. 5.5 meter long ship is claimed to be able to dive to a depth of 11 kilometers below sea level.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the project leader Sir Richard Branson announced the launch of the adventure in Newport Beach, California. One of the wealthy British businessman is indeed a strange project. The project formerly known as Virgin Galactic space travel or a special plane, which is still done.
Such as Virgin Galactic, Virgin Oceanic passengers will also pay for travel during the day on the seafloor within. "One-way fee of about U.S. $ 10 million (approximately Rp. 86 billion)," said Branson, who also owns Virgin Atlantic airlines called.
Virgin Oceanic, a single seater, will perform five dives in the next two years. The first target is approaching the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 36 thousand feet, or about 11 kilometers from the sea.Branson plans to do itself on a second occasion in the Puerto Rico Trench in the Atlantic Ocean. Other areas to be visited is the Molloy Deep in the Arctic Sea, the Arctic; South Sandwich Trench, and Diamantina in the Indian Ocean.
"There were many that could be explored. So much that you can find," said Branson. He hopes that a breakthrough was doing could contribute to knowledge useful to human life in the future.
In the mission and vision, Branson is committed to becoming a pioneer in deep-sea adventure. It's nothing, there were two greatest challenges of human exploration into the ocean in the extreme pressure and conditions like in the freezing cold.Indeed, the pressure at ocean depths of about 1,000 atmospheres is roughly equivalent to 8,000 elephants standing on a Mini Cooper. Submarines that will not shrink or shrink resistant.
Until now, the submarine which contains human being capable of diving to depths of 6,500 meters. As a result, most of the ocean trench just explored by submersible robots, and some of them never even touched by a human at all. Even in the Mariana Trench, the famous and the deepest in the world, only Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard who in 1960 conducted the study.
The idea of this project comes from friend Steve Fosset Branson is planning to dive alone at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Branson then gather scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Southern California, University of Hawaii, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Branson took Graham Hawkes (Hawkes, owner of Ocean Technologies) to design and create a jet of this submarine. Scientists are excited about the opportunities that would be Virgin Oceanic jet submarine. Proverbial, they're like Lewis and Clark that the Cessna plane made the first survey in the continental Western America.*** [UNTUNG WIDYANTO | VIRGINOCEANIC | DAILYMAIL | KORAN TEMPO 3499]
Titanium clad
Graham Hawkes and his men had to work hard to meet Sir Richard Branson's ambitions. As the designer of the world's leading submarine, Hawkes had to make a manned vehicle capable of diving up to 12 thousand feet above sea level.
During this, man with a submarine capable of diving at a depth of 6,500 meters. Meanwhile, in waters deeper dives performed by a robot submarine. Therefore, Hawkes had to make the vehicle safe from the pressure and cold temperature extremes.
"Materials and technologies should be fantastic," said Hawkes. It then uses 8,000 pounds of carbon fiber and titanium to withstand the pressure at the bottom of the deepest trough of about 1.000 atmospheres. Quartz dome pressure less than 13 million pounds or equal to the weight of three space shuttle. Hawkes designing Virgin Oceanic to have the most capability in the region in order to operate for 24 hours without reinforcements.After the jet was lowered, allowing the pusher engine "float" down to a depth of 10 kilometers on the seabed, taking pictures and data.
At these depths, the human body should be able to withstand enormous pressure, or 1,500 times the aircraft. Then protect the pilot from the extreme conditions that are only a few inches away. It's nothing, the pilot must be able to solve their own problems that arise because nothing can be done rescuers.
Therefore, testing for the pilot will run for three months. Oceanic Virgin will have a maximum speed of 3 knots and 350 feet per minute when a dive. With speed like that, Virgin Oceanic took five hours to get to the bottom of the Mariana trench and returned to the surface again.*** [UWD | VIRGINOCEANIC | KORAN TEMPO 3499]
