Chinese sub drops 5,057 meters
Source: Xinhua |
July 27, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A MANNED Chinese submersible reached its lowest-ever depth during a test dive in the Pacific Ocean early yesterday, China's oceanic institution said.
The submersible Jiaolong carried three people to a depth of 5,057 meters in an international area of the ocean. That means Jiaolong could reach over 70 percent of the seabed in the world, said Wang Fei, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration and director of the leading team of the diving test program.
"It will pave way for a record-breaking 7,000-meter test dive in 2012," Wang added.
The hatch of the Jiaolong opened at 10:13am Beijing time after having reached a depth of 5,057 meters four hours earlier. Ye Cong, Yang Bo and Fu Wentao were the crew members.
Japan's Shinkai 6500 succeeded in diving to 6,527 meters in August 1989. The U.S. Navy conducted the deepest ever dive by a manned submersible in 1960 when the Bathyscaphe Trieste descended 11,000 meters to the Pacific's Mariana Trench, the deepest water in the world.
"The purpose of this diving test program is to find problems with the Jiaolong and improve it constantly," Wang said.
Deep diving poses a challenge because of tremendous water pressure.
"At a depth of 5,000 meters, the Jiaolong withstood great pressure amounting to 5,000 tons per square meter," Wang said.
The Jiaolong has been technically improved over the past year, with its operating system, insulation monitoring system and video system upgraded.
Deep diving is also a test for the crew onboard, because they have to work underwater continuously for six to eight hours, Wang said.
After the 5,000-meter dive, the Jiaolong is expected to conduct another test, during which it will do some scientific research and further test different functions of the craft, said Wang Fei.
Xu Qinan, chief designer of the craft, said the Jiaolong's digital underwater communication systems and undersea mobility systems allowed the craft to "move back and forth easily under the sea."
China, which initiated the Jiaolong project in 2002, is the fifth country to send a man 3,500 meters below sea level, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan. The Jiaolong is named after a mythical sea dragon.
The submersible Jiaolong carried three people to a depth of 5,057 meters in an international area of the ocean. That means Jiaolong could reach over 70 percent of the seabed in the world, said Wang Fei, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration and director of the leading team of the diving test program.
"It will pave way for a record-breaking 7,000-meter test dive in 2012," Wang added.
The hatch of the Jiaolong opened at 10:13am Beijing time after having reached a depth of 5,057 meters four hours earlier. Ye Cong, Yang Bo and Fu Wentao were the crew members.
Japan's Shinkai 6500 succeeded in diving to 6,527 meters in August 1989. The U.S. Navy conducted the deepest ever dive by a manned submersible in 1960 when the Bathyscaphe Trieste descended 11,000 meters to the Pacific's Mariana Trench, the deepest water in the world.
"The purpose of this diving test program is to find problems with the Jiaolong and improve it constantly," Wang said.
Deep diving poses a challenge because of tremendous water pressure.
"At a depth of 5,000 meters, the Jiaolong withstood great pressure amounting to 5,000 tons per square meter," Wang said.
The Jiaolong has been technically improved over the past year, with its operating system, insulation monitoring system and video system upgraded.
Deep diving is also a test for the crew onboard, because they have to work underwater continuously for six to eight hours, Wang said.
After the 5,000-meter dive, the Jiaolong is expected to conduct another test, during which it will do some scientific research and further test different functions of the craft, said Wang Fei.
Xu Qinan, chief designer of the craft, said the Jiaolong's digital underwater communication systems and undersea mobility systems allowed the craft to "move back and forth easily under the sea."
China, which initiated the Jiaolong project in 2002, is the fifth country to send a man 3,500 meters below sea level, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan. The Jiaolong is named after a mythical sea dragon.
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