The critical piece of technology that we need in order to dive to Titanic is the MIR submersible and the research vessel, Akademik Mstislav Keldysh has two MIRs onboard its decks. The Russian Academy of Sciences and their Oceanographic Institute are very fortunate to have two of only five submersibles worldwide that can dive to the depths of Titanic at 12, 650 feet. The MIR 1 and MIR 2 (Mir means 'peace' or 'world' in Russian) submersibles are capable of diving to 6500 meters (over 20,000 feet) and can remain beneath the surface for up to 24 hours. They are crewed by a team of elite pilots, engineers and specialists who are regarded by the Russians with almost the same esteem as cosmonauts.
The MIRs were built in Finland in 1987 and are made of a thick nickel-steel external hull. Each MIR weighs 18.6 tons with a length over just over 25 feet and a width of 12 feet. The inside compartment holds three people including the pilot and is very cramped. There are three viewing ports on the MIR, the two side ports are approximately 5.5 inches and the main viewport, that the pilot uses, is a mere 7 inches.The MIR is propelled by a large main propeller at the stern. Since it moves through the water very slowly, and is often required to maintain its position with great precision, a rudder would be pointless. Steerage is achieved through two smaller propellers located mid-laterally and mounted on swivels so that they can provide thrust in any direction. Illumination is provided by a battery of extremely powerful headlights. You will need the Macromedia Flash 7 plug-in to view the video - Please see left panel of our weblog for upload.
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