Launching of the MIRs

Launching and recovering MIR is a tricky process. The sub has to be lowered gently into the water, disconnected from the crane cable and towed away from the ship. During the day, if conditions are calm, the well rehearsed launch crew make it look easy. To disconnect or reconnect the sub from the crane cable a crew member has to jump from a zodiac onto the slippery, rolling, bouncing top of the sub. If, as is sometimes necessary, MIR has to be deployed or recovered at night in blustery conditions, what is already a tricky process becomes extremely dangerous. For the scientists and crew, conditions within the confines of MIR while waiting to be found at the surface after a long dive can be extremely unpleasant.