Posts: 1310 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
posted 02-12-2019 09:25 AM
Tonight (Feb. 12, 2019) on most PBS stations, the series American Experience presents Sealab, a documentary on the US Navy's project that sent divers and scientists — and one Mercury 7 astronaut, Scott Carpenter — to live underwater for extended periods.
On a February day in 1969, off the shore of northern California, a US Navy crane carefully lowered 300 tons of metal into the Pacific Ocean. The massive tubular structure was an audacious feat of engineering — a pressurized underwater habitat, complete with science labs and living quarters for an elite group of divers who hoped to spend days or even months at a stretch living and working on the ocean floor.
The Sealab project, as it was known, was the brainchild of a country doctor turned naval pioneer who dreamed of pushing the limits of ocean exploration the same way NASA was pushing the limits of space exploration. As Americans were becoming entranced with the effort to land a man on the moon, these divers, including one of NASA’s most famous astronauts, were breaking depth barrier records underwater.
"Sealab" tells the little-known story of the daring program that tested the limits of human endurance and revolutionized the way humans explore the ocean.
Larry McGlynn Member
Posts: 1255 From: Boston, MA Registered: Jul 2003
posted 02-13-2019 09:43 AM
I watched the show last night. It was good. It is good see Sealab has finally risen up to the public consciousness.
Jurg Bolli Member
Posts: 977 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Nov 2000
posted 02-13-2019 07:22 PM
I agree, a very good show.
davidcwagner Member
Posts: 798 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Registered: Jan 2003
posted 02-14-2019 12:09 AM
Carpenter and I had a long discussion about Sealab many years ago (2005?). He was quite surprised that I asked him to sign Sealab in addition to Aurora 7.