8 September 1959. TRIESTE was again launched at 

 NEL. 



11 September 1959. First harbor dive of the new con- 

 figuration was made in 62 feet of water. 



15 September 1959. Ocean test dive made with mod- 

 ified TRIESTE; water depth, 4900 feet. 



2 October 1959. TRIESTE and its supporting equip- 

 ment were loaded aboard the American President Line 

 ship, SS Santa Mariana , at San Diego, California, for 

 transportation to Guam. 



10 October 1959. The advance party of the Project 

 NEKTON team arrived on the island of Guam to establish 

 the supporting facilities for the bathyscaph and its aux- 

 iliary equipment. 



22 October 1959. S3 Santa Mariana arrived at 

 Guam. TRIESTE and its equipment were unloaded for 

 Project NEKTON. Project headquarters and berthing 

 for TRIESTE were located at Ship Repair Facility, Apra 

 Harbor, Guam. 



4 November 1959. TRIESTE was waterborne upon 

 completion of reassembly. First harbor dive was made 

 in Apra Harbor to a depth of 70 feet. 



10 November 1959. First progressive ocean test 

 dive of Project NEKTON took place 3 miles off Apra 

 Harbor, Guam. Depth 4900 feet. 



15 November 1959. The world's depth record was 

 broken by TRIESTE with a dive to 18, 150 feet at a point 

 30 miles southeast of Guam. Failure of the epoxy bond- 

 ing in the sphere joint during surfacing of TRIESTE re- 

 quired craft to be drydocked upon return to SRF, Guam. 



18 November 1959. Bathyscaph drydocked at SRF, 

 Guam for the purpose of making repairs to the sphere 

 joints. Repair equipment available on Guam was not 

 appropriate for dismantling the sphere, machining and 

 rebonding the joints. Therefore, the three sphere seg- 

 ments were aligned through the use of hydraulic jacks and 

 the sphere was secured through the use of steel bands and 

 attachment rings for proper alignment. The joints were 

 covered with a rubber gasket which was glued in place to 

 prevent additional water seepage. 



58 



