- Although at first glance it may look like a sinking boat, it is a structure designed to investigate the underwater world that was created in the 60s.
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| FLIP looks like a sinking ship, but it's actually an aquatic platform designed for research. / Office of Naval Research vía Flickr |
The United States has a vertical 'ship' capable of analyzing the deep sea
FLIP stands for Floating Instrument Platform, a structure designed for research that, if you don't know what it is, you probably think it's a sinking ship. Although we are talking about it today, it is not something innovative, but rather it was created in 1962 by the Scripps Oceanography Marine Physics Laboratory for the US Navy, with the aim of providing valuable information for submarine warfare.
The 'sunken ship' needs to be towed out to sea in a horizontal position until it reaches the point chosen for the investigations. Once there, it is capable of moving 90 degrees, standing upright, and submerging much of its length. In total, 91 meters of the platform go underwater and only 17 meters remain visible from the surface.
To move all the machinery, FLIP has a pressurized water and air ballast system. On the UC San Diego website, they emphasize that their technology allows you to change position in less than half an hour, and, being vertical, the structure is more stable and obtains greater resistance to waves.
In addition, thanks to this position, the 'wreck' better collects data on long-range sound propagation and other useful measurements in geophysics, meteorology, or physical oceanography. To do this, its builders provided FLIP with special scientific instruments, such as sonars or sensors.
FLIP can fit five people, but the Scripps Oceanography research team has about 11 people. Its offshore operations can last up to 30 days without resupply and the interior quarters have two doors, one for when FLIP is horizontal and one for when it is vertical.
To move all the machinery, FLIP has a pressurized water and air ballast system. On the UC San Diego website, they emphasize that their technology allows you to change position in less than half an hour, and, being vertical, the structure is more stable and obtains greater resistance to waves.
In addition, thanks to this position, the 'wreck' better collects data on long-range sound propagation and other useful measurements in geophysics, meteorology, or physical oceanography. To do this, its builders provided FLIP with special scientific instruments, such as sonars or sensors.
FLIP can fit five people, but the Scripps Oceanography research team has about 11 people. Its offshore operations can last up to 30 days without resupply and the interior quarters have two doors, one for when FLIP is horizontal and one for when it is vertical.
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