Out of interest what do they use to communicate with the mothership? surely can't be radio as the waves can't travel through water
Titanic Sub Missing
- Thread starter Encyclopedia Titanica
- Start date
Arun Vajpey
Member
I know this sounds morbid, but IF the worst has happened - and Pogue seems to believe that is the case - I hope that it was a catastrophic hull breach. They would not have had time to feel anything. The alternative is too terrible to even contemplate.
Losing comms is something that has happened in previous dives. Last year, one group lost comms on their way down and didn't reestablish them until after they had dropped weights and began their ascent. Before they dropped all their weights, they reestablsished comms and decided to head back down.
George Jacub
Member
Missing Titanic sub: what are submersibles, how do they communicate, and what may have gone wrong?
An expert explains some of the best and worst case scenarios facing the missing commercial watercraft.
theconversation.com
Communication and rescue efforts
The Titan would have had an acoustic link with its surface vessel, set up through a transponder (a device for receiving a sonar signal) on its end, and a transceiver (a device that can both transmit and receive communications) on the surface vessel.
This link allows for underwater acoustic positioning, as well as for short text messages to be sent back and forth to the surface vessel – but the amount of data that can be shared is limited and usually includes basic telemetry and status information.
George Jacub
Member
A mother ship can communicate with a submersible “via text messages which are exchanged via a USBL (ultra-short baseline) acoustic system,” according to OceanGate Expeditions’ archived website. The submersible is required to communicate with the ship every 15 minutes or more frequently, if needed, the site says. That USBL system is the only communications link between the submersible and the surface, it adds.
Already thought that, an implosion would have been quick.
That would be modulated ultrasound, and yes there isn't a whole lot of bandwidth up there, this is also how you can transfer data across computers or phones that are completely airgapped.Missing Titanic sub: what are submersibles, how do they communicate, and what may have gone wrong?
An expert explains some of the best and worst case scenarios facing the missing commercial watercraft.
Communication and rescue efforts
The Titan would have had an acoustic link with its surface vessel, set up through a transponder (a device for receiving a sonar signal) on its end, and a transceiver (a device that can both transmit and receive communications) on the surface vessel.
This link allows for underwater acoustic positioning, as well as for short text messages to be sent back and forth to the surface vessel – but the amount of data that can be shared is limited and usually includes basic telemetry and status information.
BBC: What did the US Coast Guard say?
Just a few moments ago we heard from the US Coast Guard during a press conference in Boston. Here's the top lines from its update on the search and rescue operation for the missing submersible.
Just a few moments ago we heard from the US Coast Guard during a press conference in Boston. Here's the top lines from its update on the search and rescue operation for the missing submersible.
- The US Coast Guard has said the missing Titanic submersible has about 40 hours of oxygen left
- The coast guard has commenced a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive at the last known location of the sub
- Capt Jamie Frederick said the coast guard's "heartfelt thoughts and prayers" were with the families of the five crew on board the Titan
- He said crews, including the US Coast Guard, US Navy and Canada "are working around the clock"
- The US Coast Guard says they have searched an area of 7,600 sq miles, which is bigger than the US state of Connecticut
- "These search efforts have not yielded any results," Capt Frederick said
Arun Vajpey
Member
Theoretically, if they find the sub in, say, the next 2 hours on the ocean bed, what can they do to bring it up? David Pogue did not think there was a lot that could be done because the deepest submarine rescue thus far has apparently been from around 1500 feet. The Titanic lies nearly 9 times deeper.
He gave the impression that the only hope is if it has actually surfaced somewhere. It would be just daylight in that part of the Atlantic as I post this and hopefully, a concentrated low-level air search might give them a chance while there is still breathable air left.
He gave the impression that the only hope is if it has actually surfaced somewhere. It would be just daylight in that part of the Atlantic as I post this and hopefully, a concentrated low-level air search might give them a chance while there is still breathable air left.
I think the most credible source of info at this point is the coast guard.
No clue how they would bring it back up if it's at bottom. They'd need something capable of getting to those depths first and foremost, and the list of subs with that capability is very small.
Of those that can reach that depth, what can they do to float another sub? That is beyond my knowledge scope.
No clue how they would bring it back up if it's at bottom. They'd need something capable of getting to those depths first and foremost, and the list of subs with that capability is very small.
Of those that can reach that depth, what can they do to float another sub? That is beyond my knowledge scope.
It must be possible because they once managed to pick up a big piece of Titanic only to drop it on the way back, i think it's along the lines of attaching balloons full of air to the object to be floated.
I also had to explain to my mom today why a chain wouldn't have worked, think of the effort required to haul up something the size of a minivan on a 2.5 mile long chain, and imagine said 2.5 mile long chain wrapped around a windlass...
Arun Vajpey
Member
If they do manage to reach the sub on the ocean floor with a few hours at least of air left, can they somehow activate from the outside one of the 7 mechanisms that will bring the vehicle to the surface? Pogue said that one of them would work even if the people inside have passed out.
If it's THE big piece that you are referring to, if I remember correctly it took weeks to successfully bring it up.
The question is why haven't any of those 7 failsafes already been triggered?
George Jacub
Member
A TV reporter who did a story on the Titanic sub said: 'Some of the ballast is abandoned construction pipes that are sitting on shelves on the side of the thing, and the way you detach the ballast is you get everybody ob-board to lean to one side of the sub and they roll off,'
An update on CNN said they also have manual hydraulic lifts they can use to push the ballast off. The ballast is crucial. If they can dump the ballast, the sub will float to the surface on its own.
Rescuers then have to find it in an area the size of Northern Ireland. Time is the enemy. The people are in an airtight metal compartment. They can't get out on their own. Someone has to undo the 17 bolts that seal the sub. But if located above the water, as a last resort rescuers could drill into the sub to get oxygen to the occupants.
An update on CNN said they also have manual hydraulic lifts they can use to push the ballast off. The ballast is crucial. If they can dump the ballast, the sub will float to the surface on its own.
Rescuers then have to find it in an area the size of Northern Ireland. Time is the enemy. The people are in an airtight metal compartment. They can't get out on their own. Someone has to undo the 17 bolts that seal the sub. But if located above the water, as a last resort rescuers could drill into the sub to get oxygen to the occupants.
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