Froehlich was one of the principal designers of Alvin. The titanium sphere would then rise to the surface uncontrolled. In an emergency, if Alvin were stuck underwater with occupants inside, the outer body, or cladding, of the submersible could be released and discarded using controls inside the hull. The plug hatch of the vessel is 0.48 m (1 ft 7 in) in diameter and somewhat thicker than the 2-inch (51 mm) thick titanium sphere pressure hull it is held in place by the pressure of the water above it. The submersible features two robotic arms and can be fitted with mission-specific sampling and experimental gear. It allows for two scientists and one pilot to dive for up to nine hours at 4,500 meters (14,800 ft). Its more nimble design was made possible in part by the development of syntactic foam, which is buoyant and yet strong enough to serve as a structural material at great depths. Research conducted by Alvin has been featured in nearly 2,000 scientific papers.Īlvin was designed as a replacement for bathyscaphes and other less maneuverable oceanographic vehicles. The submersible has made more than 5,000 dives, carrying two scientists and a pilot, to observe the lifeforms that must cope with super-pressures and move about in total darkness, as well as exploring the wreck of Titanic. The submersible is launched from the deep submergence support vessel RV Atlantis (AGOR-25), which is also owned by the U.S. Named to honor the prime mover and creative inspiration for the vehicle, Allyn Vine, Alvin was commissioned on 5 June 1964. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The rack hanging at the bow holds sample containers.Īlvin ( DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents.
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