RMS Titanic, Inc. - 1998 Research and Recovery Expedition

First, the long fiber-optic cable could get jammed inside Nautile’s rear propeller or wrapped around the sub’s robotic arms. If that happens, Nautile will have to cut itself free from the cable and make an emergency return to the surface.

Second, if the Abeille Supporter is unable to hold its position or has to abandon the site because of rough weather, the live uplink cable could spiral down on top of Nautile, trapping those inside.

Third, if the ship moves, the uplink cable could develop a kink, which will make it useless. The $200,000 cable will have to be cut loose and lost.

"We understand the risks," George says. "That’s why our team has worked for more than two years studying and dealing with the dangers of placing a manned submersible near an uplink cable. To reduce the risk, we’ve engineered safety clamps and lines to catch the cable in case it breaks at the surface. At least, that will give the Nautile’s crew a chance to escape."

As I’m writing this in the galley of the Abeille Supporter, we’ve heard that Nautile has reached the seabed and has successfully located the fiber-optic basket.

Now all there is to do is wait.

5:30 p.m.

I’m crammed inside a TV production shed on the Abeille Supporter with George, P.H. Nargeolet, photographer Olivier Pascaud and members of the NBC Titanic crew, staring at a bank of video monitors.

On one screen, we watch a black and white video image of the sandy sea bottom, shot from a camera on the uplink cage..



		Reports written by Susan Wels	Images produced by Matt Tulloch

		Saturday, August 15, 1998 "The first notification of the disaster came from the wireless station at Cape Race, which about 10:30 last night picked up the Titanic’s message for help....Then came a long pause, and at 12:27 the Virginian’s operator said the last signals received from the Titanic were blurred and indistinct, and that the message had been broken off suddenly...Absolutely no details are to hand yet as to how the accident occurred...." --Daily Sketch April 16, 1912
		3:00 p.m. News travels fast at the end of the 20^th century. For years, we’ve even been able to transmit live video images, via satellite, from spacecraft orbiting more than 28 miles above the earth. Until now, though, we’ve never been able to transmit live images from the deep bottom of the ocean, where communication signals cannot penetrate. But all of that may change today. If a delicate and risky experiment goes as planned this afternoon, we may have the first live transmissions in history from a manned submersible 2.5 miles down at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. It’s a technological feat that has never been attempted, and it involves considerable danger to the submersible’s crew. Here’s how it will work (if it works): • On Wednesday night, the Abeille Supporter dropped a basket carrying 6,500 feet of fiber-optic cable into the Atlantic, positioning it some 5,000 feet from the Titanic’s bow. • Late last night, the Abeille made another drop—this time, a metal cage connected to a live fiber-optic cable uplink to the ship. At 5:45 this morning, the cage was successfully positioned some 2,600 feet equidistant from the Titanic’s bow and stern. • This afternoon at 1:45 p.m., the Nadir crew launched the manned submersible Nautile, which is now on its way to the bottom. When it reaches the seabed, Nautile will retrieve the fiber-optic basket and carry it in its robotic arms to the live uplink cable in the cage. • Nautile will then try to connect itself to the fiber-optic cable and attempt to connect the cable to the live uplink. • If all the connections are successful, TV monitors on the Abeille will immediately begin receiving live color video images from Nautile’s four cameras, positioned outside and inside the sub. Those images can then be transmitted by microwave to the Ocean Voyager and from there sent instantaneously via satellite to the world. "If this technology works," says George Tulloch, "it will enable people everywhere to experience, real-time, the wreck of the Titanic and the reality of the deep ocean. And they’ll be able to participate, real-time, with the people who are actually risking their lives to explore it." Now, a word about the dangers:
		First, the long fiber-optic cable could get jammed inside Nautile’s rear propeller or wrapped around the sub’s robotic arms. If that happens, Nautile will have to cut itself free from the cable and make an emergency return to the surface. Second, if the Abeille Supporter is unable to hold its position or has to abandon the site because of rough weather, the live uplink cable could spiral down on top of Nautile, trapping those inside. Third, if the ship moves, the uplink cable could develop a kink, which will make it useless. The $200,000 cable will have to be cut loose and lost. "We understand the risks," George says. "That’s why our team has worked for more than two years studying and dealing with the dangers of placing a manned submersible near an uplink cable. To reduce the risk, we’ve engineered safety clamps and lines to catch the cable in case it breaks at the surface. At least, that will give the Nautile’s crew a chance to escape." As I’m writing this in the galley of the Abeille Supporter, we’ve heard that Nautile has reached the seabed and has successfully located the fiber-optic basket. Now all there is to do is wait. 5:30 p.m. I’m crammed inside a TV production shed on the Abeille Supporter with George, P.H. Nargeolet, photographer Olivier Pascaud and members of the NBC Titanic crew, staring at a bank of video monitors. On one screen, we watch a black and white video image of the sandy sea bottom, shot from a camera on the uplink cage..
		Suddenly, the screen shows Nautile flying slowly in deep ocean toward the cage like an alien spaceship, dangling the basket filled with fiber-optic line. Watching the sub approach in black and white is like watching the 1969 moon landing. I don’t think it would surprise any of us to see Neil Armstrong climbing out of the hatch and taking one small step onto the ocean floor. But this isn’t the moon’s Sea of Tranquility. It’s the bottom of the earth’s Atlantic Ocean, and all of a sudden, it’s coming to us live. Nautile places the fiber-optic basket on the seabed, stirring up a huge cloud of ocean-bottom dust. Slowly, the haze of sediment recedes, and we watch one of Nautile’s robotic arms reach out to the cage and grab the connector that will hook the fiber-optic cable to the Abeille’s live television uplink. Minutes go by as Nautile’s R2D2 arms delicately plug the fiber-optic cable into the connector. Then, in an instant, the TV monitors fill with crisp, color video images from the Nautile’s cameras. Unbelievable. The robotic, bottom-of-the-world live video connection worked. Even Pierre Valdy, its inventor and chief engineer, doubted that the transmission could succeed. But it has, and the results are almost better than anyone had hoped.
		Now we’re even peering, live, inside the sub, watching the pilots, Max Dubois and Yann Houard, with observer and sonar expert Paul Matthias. It’s like looking inside the Space Shuttle, except that it’s a submarine, 2.5 miles below the surface, and no one has ever transmitted live pictures from that place on earth before. "This is an incredible moment," Paul Matthias says, live, from inside the Nautile’s tiny sphere. "More people have been to outer space than to the bottom of the ocean. And now, it feels like we’re bringing the ocean floor to the world. It’s a major leap in undersea technology," he says, "and our hope is that we’ll now be able to bring you the Titanic live as we explore it." Back to top Back to the Expedition Calendar
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