Triton
Submarines, civil submarine manufacturing company based in Florida,
this week announced plans to build the Triton 36,000 full ocean depth
submersible for the commercial market.
Based
on the chassis design of current Triton models that can dive up to
3,300 feet, the new Triton 36,000 features new glass production
technology that will allow it to become the deepest diving
multi-passenger autonomous submersible in the world.
The
Triton 36,000 full ocean depth submersible passenger cockpit will be
approximately six feet in diameter and made entirely of borosilicate
glass. Developed by San Diego-based Rayotek Scientific, the cockpit will
open and close like a clam shell, forming a complete, transparent
sphere.
The
Triton 36,000 will be controlled through a system of touchscreen
controls and information displays with commands communicated by fiber
optic systems that transmit light signals through the glass hull.
Temperature controls keep the interior comfortable for shirtsleeves
while the design keeps internal pressure stabilized at 1 atmosphere —
the same as being above water. The sub can descend at 500 feet per
minute, meaning it can reach the deepest spot in the ocean in
approximately 75 minutes.
Concurrently, Triton also announced the “Race to Inner Space,”
an invitation to aspiring ocean explorers and entrepreneurs around the
world to join Triton in the pursuit of making the deep ocean accessible
to all, discovering new life forms critical to science and research, and
rekindling America’s passion for leading the world in exploration and
adventure.
“At
a time when we’re retiring the shuttles that explored outer space, we
have an incredible opportunity to launch a new type of shuttle to
explore inner space,” said L. Bruce Jones, CEO of Triton Subs and the
force behind the Triton 36,000. “Being able to go to the deepest spot in
the ocean in little more than an hour is going to revolutionize our
relationship with the deep ocean. We’re opening the door to unlimited
possibilities of exploration, science and wonder that anyone can
experience.”
The
Triton 36,000 can carry the first humans back to the deepest part of
the ocean in more than 50 years — a place that has only seen visitors
once in the history of humankind when Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard
descended in the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960. Designed for serious
explorers and scientists, as well as commercial use, the Triton 36,000
can retain its safety and integrity over the course of hundreds of
dives.
About Triton Submarines LLC
Triton
Submarines LLC is part of the U.S. Submarine group of companies. The
Triton line of submersibles includes the Triton 1000 two- and
three-passenger models and the Triton 3,300, also available in two- and
three-person models, diving to 1,000 and 3,300 feet respectively. The
group also builds larger luxury submarines for yacht-based operations
that carry 4, 6 and 10 passengers as well as large diesel-electric
luxury submarines and tourist submarines.
The group is also building the world’s first undersea resort in Fiji (Poseidon Resorts) and has formed a new company engaged in building sea-floor residences and commercial buildings (U.S. Substructures).
