Wars cmd Wayfaring
209
‘ignition system’ of domestic gas res to pressure—resistant casings,
an improved radar beacon, a continuous laser suitable for cutting
metal, an efcient radiation source for cancer therapy, and a quick—
acting voltage regulator (QUAVER) expected to save industry
millions of pounds. Once off the ‘secret list’, information on such
useful ‘spin—off’ is passed on to industry via the ‘techlinks’ system of
the Ministry of Technology.
Ferhaps appropriately, many writers suggest that the present
growth of interest in oceanography and oceanology, particularly in
the United States, really got underway with the development of the
nuclear submarine and later the Polaris missile. With their high
speeds, great operating depths and destructive potential, Polaris
submarines created new problems in communication, control and
detection, not to mention engineering development. Whether this
is true or not, the loss of the nuclear submarine Thres/zer in 1963
certainly loosened the purse strings of the United States Govern—
ment when the nation discovered that it had no means for deeprescue
operations. The Tbres/rer disaster led directly to the US.
Navy’s Deep Submergence Systems Project (DSSP) which has
provided the funds via research and development contracts needed
for further expansion of oceanology. For the federal year 1969,
$81- 5 million (£32-6 million) were proposed primarily for DSSP
with its programmes for submarine location, escape and rescue; the
location and recovery of objects; the Man—in—the—sea Project; and,
nally, the nuclear—powered, deep—ocean research and engineering
vehicle NR—I mentioned earlier, in Chapter 6.
In the context of this book, the Man—in—the—sea Project, with its
Sealab experiments, is one of the most interesting items. Both
private industry, particularly Ocean Systems, and the US
.
Navy are
developing equipment and techniques which Will enable divers to
work eiciently in the sea longer, at greater depths and with more
safety than in the past. The
report of the President to
Congress on marine resources and engineering development
(Marine Science Aairs—a Year of Plans cmd Progress, March 1968)
gave a few examples of the type of developments needed for this
mission: they include a new deep-diving system; a more efcient
absorber of carbon dioxide exhaled by the diver; a new microphone
suitable for communication at depth; and a micro—miniaturized
sonar with high resolution which, mounted on a diver’s ‘helmet’,
helps him to ‘see’ in murky water. The ‘spin—off
’
from this major
209
‘ignition system’ of domestic gas res to pressure—resistant casings,
an improved radar beacon, a continuous laser suitable for cutting
metal, an efcient radiation source for cancer therapy, and a quick—
acting voltage regulator (QUAVER) expected to save industry
millions of pounds. Once off the ‘secret list’, information on such
useful ‘spin—off’ is passed on to industry via the ‘techlinks’ system of
the Ministry of Technology.
Ferhaps appropriately, many writers suggest that the present
growth of interest in oceanography and oceanology, particularly in
the United States, really got underway with the development of the
nuclear submarine and later the Polaris missile. With their high
speeds, great operating depths and destructive potential, Polaris
submarines created new problems in communication, control and
detection, not to mention engineering development. Whether this
is true or not, the loss of the nuclear submarine Thres/zer in 1963
certainly loosened the purse strings of the United States Govern—
ment when the nation discovered that it had no means for deeprescue
operations. The Tbres/rer disaster led directly to the US.
Navy’s Deep Submergence Systems Project (DSSP) which has
provided the funds via research and development contracts needed
for further expansion of oceanology. For the federal year 1969,
$81- 5 million (£32-6 million) were proposed primarily for DSSP
with its programmes for submarine location, escape and rescue; the
location and recovery of objects; the Man—in—the—sea Project; and,
nally, the nuclear—powered, deep—ocean research and engineering
vehicle NR—I mentioned earlier, in Chapter 6.
In the context of this book, the Man—in—the—sea Project, with its
Sealab experiments, is one of the most interesting items. Both
private industry, particularly Ocean Systems, and the US
.
Navy are
developing equipment and techniques which Will enable divers to
work eiciently in the sea longer, at greater depths and with more
safety than in the past. The
report of the President to
Congress on marine resources and engineering development
(Marine Science Aairs—a Year of Plans cmd Progress, March 1968)
gave a few examples of the type of developments needed for this
mission: they include a new deep-diving system; a more efcient
absorber of carbon dioxide exhaled by the diver; a new microphone
suitable for communication at depth; and a micro—miniaturized
sonar with high resolution which, mounted on a diver’s ‘helmet’,
helps him to ‘see’ in murky water. The ‘spin—off
’
from this major