WHOI, Lockheed Martin Sign Deal for RHOV
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) last month awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.8 million contract for the initial design of the Replacement Human Occupied Vehicle (RHOV), a three-person Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) that will be used by the U.S. scientific community. Funded through the National Science Foundation, RHOV is intended to replace the DSV Alvin, the human-occupied deep submergence vehicle currently operated by WHOI. The enhanced design of the RHOV will provide additional space in the vehicle's personnel sphere for its complement of two scientists and a pilot; the design also will accommodate greater science payload and provide improved visibility. RHOV will operate in depths of 6,500 m (about four miles) and will be designed to be able to reach nearly 99 percent of the global ocean floor, with each dive lasting up to 10 hours. The RHOV will ultimately be a part of the National Deep Submergence Facility, a fleet of underwater vehicles operated by WHOI for the U.S. oceanographic community. "For over 75 years, WHOI has been a world leader in exploring the oceans. The Alvin submersible has played a vital role in that effort," said Jim Luyten, WHOI President and Director. "We are very pleased to enter into this alliance with Lockheed Martin to design a more capable human occupied vehicle. It will help enable our greater understanding of ocean processes and their interaction with other parts of the global Earth system."
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Marine Technology Reporter 7
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