PROJECT SEALAB REPORT 



AN EXPERIMENTAL 



45-DAY UNDERSEA SATURATION DIVE 



AT 205 FEET 



Chapter 1 

 THE MAN-IN-THE-SEA PROGRAM 



Sealab II operations had as a backdrop Sealab I, also conducted by the Office of Naval Re- 

 search, which had been completed just one year previous to Sealab 11. In Sealab I, four U.S. 

 Navy divers had performed an 11-day saturation dive at a depth of 193 ft. 



Prior to Sealab I, extensive saturation pressure -chamber tests had been conducted at 

 both the Submarine Medical Center, New London, Connecticut, and at the Experimental Div- 

 ing Unit, Washington, D.C. Principal Investigators at these laboratories included CAPT George 

 Bond, CAPT Walter Mazzone, and CAPT Robert Workman. The results of these chamber 

 tests on test animals as well as human subjects proved that man could be subjected to satu- 

 rated diving conditions and successfully decompressed without any ill effects. 



Sealab I operations resulted from an interest generated within the Office of Naval Re- 

 search to translate the U.S. Navy's saturated diving capabilities from the diving tank to at-sea 

 operations. Sealab I operations were conducted in ideal ocean waters with respect to visibil- 

 ity, water temperature, and ocean-floor conditions. 



The habitat used in Project Sealab I was primitive. A large experimental minesweeping 

 float nine feet in diameter and 40 ft long was modified with ports and openings and equipped 

 with bunks, showers, galley, and gas bottles. This simple habitat was lowered to the ocean 

 floor next to Argus Island, an Office of Naval Research ocean research tower, located 30 

 miles southwest from Bermuda. 



A standard two-man decompression chamber was used as a submersible decompression 

 chamber for Sealab I operations and was handled with the crane installed on Argus Island. 



Handling of the Sealab I habitat in even relatively smooth waters proved to be difficult. 

 Many other associated problems were revealed in the Sealab I operation. The project was 

 terminated as a result of an impending tropical storm. 



Sealab I did prove to be successful, and for the limited funds available (approximately 

 $150,000) did accomplish the end intended— the first step of translating saturated diving from 

 pressure chambers to at-sea operations. 



Sealab II was the second step toward this end (Fig. 1). 



However, instead of the clear warm water and hard-bottom conditions of Bermuda, it was 

 desired for Sealab II to face the more realistic environmental conditions existing on the con- 

 tinental shelf surrounding the United States. The site off Scripps Institution of Oceanography 

 at La Jolla, California was selected for these environmental conditions as well as for logistic 

 and scientific support considerations. 



