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 This series of reports will, among other things, chronicle the launch of the first Ocean NetTM buoy. This big, yellow machine is something of a seaborne equivalent to the Hubble Space Telescope. Developed by Harris Corporation's Maritime Communication Services (MCS) and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI), it will act as an open-ocean satellite for marine scientists, gathering valuable data from a realm every bit as dark and mysterious as outer space. For six months at a time, this self-powered structure will keep a lonely watch over its appointed station, reaching far below to listen, watch, and record--another robotic emissary for our industrious species, constructed to extend our reach, manning a forbidding outpost at the frontier of our understanding.
From top to bottom, The Ocean Net system is a collection of engineering firsts. Describing it in simple terms quickly becomes an act of understatement. Actually, the "buoy" part of the Ocean Net system is just the topmost component of a multi-part ensemble that is over 15,000 feet long. None of the system's components match the mundane images that come to mind in association with bland terms like, "buoy", "mooring cable", or "anchor". The buoy itself is loaded with generators, computers and other electronics, culminating in an inertially-stabilized antenna capable of focusing a narrow beam of data at an orbiting satellite 23,000 miles away, even when the surrounding seas are heaving with 18 foot waves. The "cable" is the lightest ever built at its strength, armored against abrasion and shark bites, tough enough to restrain 130,000 pounds of jerking force, yet filled with delicate fiberoptic filaments only 125 microns in diameter. The "anchor," weighing over 40,000 pounds, incorporates multiple underwater-matable fiberoptic junctions that allow underwater robots to connect deep-sea instruments. It also houses advanced electronics capable of delivering power to almost any conceivable instrument, and translating almost any imaginable signal into a common data language.
 The Ocean Net network, planned to incorporate and interconnect a constellation of such buoys around the globe, surely will achieve impressive scientific goals. But to our eyes, this is not as much a story of science as it is a story of amazing, cutting-edge engineering. We must remember that behind almost every major science story in human memory, there is a hidden story about the enabling development of scientific tools. Throughout this series of dispatches and articles, engineers and their work will take center stage, and the story of the Ocean Net buoy will lead us into a deeper exploration of the role that engineers play in developing the astounding toolkit of the modern ocean explorer.
Our dispatches will run occasionally as Harris and HBOI engineers prepare their machine to leave port. Sometime in July, the buoy and all of it's components will be carried on a special barge to the Bahamas, where we will cover its deployment on a daily basis. From that point forward, you will be able to use your web browser to access cameras on the buoy any time you like. This view of the Bahamian open ocean will, over time, be supplemented by views from other Ocean Net buoys in various locations around the globe.
To begin our on-the-scene coverage, correspondent Sean Kelley sat down for an interview with Jerry Neely, Director of Engineering at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.
Go to the interview >>
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<<DISPATCH 1
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MISSION
CONTROL
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