Titan

[Dude#1279435]

I don't get why Stockton thought carbon fiber would be a good idea at 4000 feet?? As has been said, steel or titanium. Carbon makes me think of something that gives away a little more. Also fiber glass for the window or whatever. Just seems odd. There were creaking sounds on previous trips. If I heard correct the hull was rated to 1300 feet. Jeff o Stroff pointed out you want the hull rated well passed the dive depth. Oceangate was expected for 4000 feet, and there was no known testing by experts that I remember.

 

[NINaudio]

4000 meters, not feet.

 

[John Parks]

*meters

 

[John Parks]

4000 meters, not feet.

Bah - beat me to it my mere seconds!

 

[NINaudio]

The hull was initially rated to 4000m, then downrated to 3000m in 2018 after it showed signs of cyclic fatigue. It may or may not have been repaired after being downrated, there doesn't seem to be a clear indication either way. However it did make several journeys down to the Titanic starting in 2021.

The window was supposedly only good to 1300m.

 

[mtrycrafts]

As I have heard before, "haste makes waste."
Pressure is over 5,000 psi down there.

 

[lovinthehd]

One youtube submariner guy posited that the bare carbon fibre wasn't sufficient on its own, needed a casing of steel/titanium/ceramics.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Marine group says 10 subs in the world can dive to Titanic depths. Titan is the only one not certified | CBC News

I get the impression that Stockton was a very smart guy - but thought he was smarter than everyone else.

A blog post on OceanGate's website in 2019 responds to questions about why the company's submersibles are not "classed" by any independent organization. The post was centred on regulation slowing down innovation.

"Bringing an outside entity up to speed on every innovation before it is put into real-world testing is anathema to rapid innovation," the post reads.

The company said that classing agencies often have a "multi-year approval cycle due to lack of pre-existing standards, especially, for example, in the case of many of OceanGate's innovations."

If you look at the photos in the article, you will see a monitor bracket screwed to the pressure hull. So, they drilled and tapped holes to install the mount. As a former submariner, I can confirm that this is something you do NOT do.

While I feel that the resources committed to the SAR effort were morally justified, I have to wonder how much OceanGate's reckless actions cost American and Canadian taxpayers.

 

[Swerd]

I think everyone will agree that the Titan was an unproven design that got away with some deep descents (how many & how deep?) … but took one deep dive too many.

And yes, Stockton seemed to be a very smart guy – so smart that he believed he couldn't fool himself.

Better to be safe than sorry is an often repeated lesson in life. If sorry includes sudden death due to catastrophic implosion, you get no do-overs once you cross that sorry threshold.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I think everyone will agree that the Titan was an unproven design that got away with some deep descents (how many & how deep?) … but took one deep dive too many.

And yes, Stockton seemed to be a very smart guy – so smart that he believed he couldn't fool himself.

Better to be safe than sorry is an often repeated lesson in life. If sorry includes sudden death due to catastrophic implosion, you get no do-overs once you cross that sorry threshold.

There are good reasons for submitting designs and finished products to regulatory bodies for appraisal, testing and approval. They are unbiased bodies who have no personal interest in the venture.

It's similar to lawyers not representing themselves in court, or doctors not treating themselves.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

The window was supposedly only good to 1300m.

Maybe that is when it imploded.

 

[Mikado463]

and we think 80k on speaker cables is nuts, imagine spending 250k for a ride in that silly thing........

should their estate pay the bill ?

When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should pay for rescue attempts?

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart. “Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the...

www.aol.com

 

[j_garcia]

and we think 80k on speaker cables is nuts, imagine spending 250k for a ride in that silly thing........

should their estate pay the bill ?

When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should pay for rescue attempts?

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart. “Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the...

www.aol.com

I am going to need a refund. Posthumously.

RIP for those who lost their lives.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Pieces of Titan wreckage taken off ship in St. John's as investigations begin | CBC News

 

[Dude#1279435]

If I remember hearing right the carbon fiber was wound only in one direction.