7 ms·

Richard Branson Announces Virgin Oceanic Submarine

135 points by bakbak 16y ago

keiferski 16y ago
This is why you should aspire to make it big. Not so you can buy a jet and fancy cars, but to go on awesome adventures and push the definition of "what's possible." Or maybe I just admire Richard Branson a little too much.
- ErrantX 16y ago
  No you're not alone on that. Branson has always pushed to be at the "edge", see Virgin Galactic as the prime example of that :)
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - Apocryphon 16y ago
    As cool as the venture was, have they been making any progress at all recently?
    - mcdowall 16y ago
      I would say so... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12909071 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12909071
- duck 16y ago
  And just to do awesome things for the world. Who knows what we might learn as we go deeper in the oceans.
- akozak 16y ago
  This is the frustrating thing about most modern billionaires. They're so... boring and conventional. I'd much rather Zuckerberg took those millions he dumped into New Jersey public schools and built a spaceship that billions of kids around the world could watch fly into space. I mean, yea Bill Gates malaria is important to solve, but can't you do that AND build a totally sweet space station?
  - oldstrangers 16y ago
    Another Microsoft billionaire, Paul Allen, has done some pretty cool space related things like SpaceShipOne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne
  - cpeterso 16y ago
    SF author David Brin proposes an organization that champions philanthropic ventures that might earn rich donors a historic legacy. For example, funding a flight to the moon or Mars or building a free university in a third-world nation. http://www.futurist.com/articles-archive/business-and-economics/future-philanthropy-1-the-eye-of-the-needle-foundation/ http://www.futurist.com/articles-archive/business-and-econom...
- archgoon 16y ago
  Or rebuild the Super Conducting Super Collider. AKA The Hole in Texas.
- stevenj 16y ago
  I found it interesting (though not surprising) that the entrepreneur Branson admires most is Steve Jobs. http://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/53092854683287552 http://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/53092854683287552
RyanMcGreal 16y ago
Richard Branson reminds me of a robber-baron hero from a Robert A. Heinlein novel.
- jerf 16y ago
  I am also thinking Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or his updated compatriot Hagbard Celine from the Illuminatus! trilogy. Somewhat more seriously, this is an interesting turn in events when compared to space policy too. We have conquered the land of Earth. The remaining frontiers are the sea, and space. In both cases our governments appear to have spent themselves, but private investment in space is becoming a serious force to be reckoned with, and now we get this article about a serious foray into the ocean by a private company. It makes me seriously wonder if a new Age of Exploration isn't about to open up again.
  - wtracy 16y ago
    We've had plenty of forays into the ocean by private oil companies: http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/11/mile-and-half-deep-submersible.html http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/11/mile-and-half-deep-... This is much more inspiring, though.
podperson 16y ago
I'm amazed the basic underlying idea (which I believe the designer has been working on for some time) has taken so long to get real traction. In essence, the submarine is an underwater "airplane" that uses the principle of "lift" to go down (so if its engine fails it "falls" to the surface). This means no ballast tanks and a very simple, robust design (mechanical stuff outside the bubble; life support and people inside). Oddly enough the only reason I know anything about this subject is that back in 1997 I was working as a game designer working on a "Tomb Raider"-like game but with the emphasis on the underwater gameplay (I thought Tomb Raider's underwater stuff was a huge missed opportunity, since I found the few underwater bits the most scary and tense). Researching the back story I looked into what was happening in submarine design (a field that doesn't get a huge amount of coverage, even among geeks) and found out about these underwater "planes" and some stuff the US Navy was experimenting with (i.e. a modified Los Angeles class submarine that could launch armed drone subs, which is a brilliant idea since the most dangerous thing an attack sub can do in combat is launch a torpedo). Again -- funny how slow progress seems to be in subs compared to everything else.
- eugenejen 16y ago
  IMHO the cause for slow progress is due to most submarine research are restricted and classified as top secret. At the other hand, I wonder why submarine exploration of oceans on earth is not regarded as highly as space exploration. Also while there are so many private start-ups focus on commercial space business, what about deep ocean? I know James Cameron's participation. But anybody else?
  - JoeAltmaier 16y ago
    Technology: Submarines have to withstand hundreds of atmospheres of pressure. Spacecraft? 1.
    - burgerbrain 16y ago
      Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Good Lord! That's over 5000 atmospheres of pressure! Fry: How many atmospheres can the ship withstand? Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Well, it was built for space travel, so anywhere between zero and one.
karanr 16y ago
I <3 Branson!
storborg 16y ago
The first and only two humans to visit the Challenger Deep did so in 1960, and in recent years not a single submersible has existed that's rated for that depth. We, as a species, have not gone back since. In contrast, twelve humans have walked on the surface of the moon. Now we're finally going back! This is so cool!
leif 16y ago
Still waiting for Virgin Historic.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- mkramlich 16y ago
  That would require him to fund the development of a time machine. Or perhaps it has already happened.
riffraff 16y ago
before reading I thought this was some new virgin-branded enterprise. As in, I already had the wallet in my hands to book a trip.
ChuckMcM 16y ago
Surprised nobody has yet to mention US Submarines[1] their Phoenix 1000 design [2] would be (if anyone ever bought one) the largest personally owned undersea craft, and a helluva an RV. There was a BBC documentary on a guy who built a nominal atmosphere submarine that could go down 1000' (300 meters). [1] http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/luxury.php3 http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/luxury.php3 [2] http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/phoenix_1000.php3 http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/phoenix_1000.php3
ck2 16y ago
"The Virgin Oceanic sub has the ability to 'fly' underwater for 10 km at depth on each of the five dives and to fully explore this unknown environment." Sounds like something out of Seaquest (anyone remember that show, lol) http://google.com/images?q=seaquest+stinger http://google.com/images?q=seaquest+stinger
fryguy 16y ago
I've always wondered why they continue building submarines instead of ROVs. I'm a little bit biased as I work for an ROV company, but it seems silly that you'd go down so deep (somewhat "dangerously" as well) for the experience of breathing bad air in a cramped smelly place to look out of a tiny window (since glass/plastic has to be ridiculously thick to have 1 atmosphere at those extreme depths) or video cameras, when you could do the same thing from the surface on a boat. Perhaps this technology is significantly better than the manned vessels they used during the Titanic recovery (where these stories of the manned exploration that deep come from), but it doesn't make sense to me. I suppose there's the whole "I got to experience it" thing, like people that want to go to space have, but it's not quite the same thing.
- bradleyjoyce 16y ago
  the human desire to explore and "be there" is very powerful and in most cases of pushing the envelop of exploration, wins out over logic.
epynonymous 16y ago
not a huge fan of richard branson, but i think what he's doing is pretty cool even though this won't be affordable anytime soon for the layman. think about it, the earth is 75% water and most of that has been unexplored (except for deep sea drilling), and here we are exploring space when so much under our nose is unexplored.

135 points by bakbak 16y ago

This is why you should aspire to make it big. Not so you can buy a jet and fancy cars, but to go on awesome adventures and push the definition of "what's possible." Or maybe I just admire Richard Branson a little too much.

ErrantX 16y ago
No you're not alone on that. Branson has always pushed to be at the "edge", see Virgin Galactic as the prime example of that :)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- Apocryphon 16y ago
  As cool as the venture was, have they been making any progress at all recently?
  - mcdowall 16y ago
    I would say so... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12909071 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12909071
duck 16y ago
And just to do awesome things for the world. Who knows what we might learn as we go deeper in the oceans.
akozak 16y ago
This is the frustrating thing about most modern billionaires. They're so... boring and conventional. I'd much rather Zuckerberg took those millions he dumped into New Jersey public schools and built a spaceship that billions of kids around the world could watch fly into space. I mean, yea Bill Gates malaria is important to solve, but can't you do that AND build a totally sweet space station?
- oldstrangers 16y ago
  Another Microsoft billionaire, Paul Allen, has done some pretty cool space related things like SpaceShipOne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne
- cpeterso 16y ago
  SF author David Brin proposes an organization that champions philanthropic ventures that might earn rich donors a historic legacy. For example, funding a flight to the moon or Mars or building a free university in a third-world nation. http://www.futurist.com/articles-archive/business-and-economics/future-philanthropy-1-the-eye-of-the-needle-foundation/ http://www.futurist.com/articles-archive/business-and-econom...
archgoon 16y ago
Or rebuild the Super Conducting Super Collider. AKA The Hole in Texas.
stevenj 16y ago
I found it interesting (though not surprising) that the entrepreneur Branson admires most is Steve Jobs. http://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/53092854683287552 http://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/53092854683287552

RyanMcGreal 16y ago

Richard Branson reminds me of a robber-baron hero from a Robert A. Heinlein novel.

jerf 16y ago
I am also thinking Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or his updated compatriot Hagbard Celine from the Illuminatus! trilogy. Somewhat more seriously, this is an interesting turn in events when compared to space policy too. We have conquered the land of Earth. The remaining frontiers are the sea, and space. In both cases our governments appear to have spent themselves, but private investment in space is becoming a serious force to be reckoned with, and now we get this article about a serious foray into the ocean by a private company. It makes me seriously wonder if a new Age of Exploration isn't about to open up again.
- wtracy 16y ago
  We've had plenty of forays into the ocean by private oil companies: http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/11/mile-and-half-deep-submersible.html http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/11/mile-and-half-deep-... This is much more inspiring, though.

podperson 16y ago

I'm amazed the basic underlying idea (which I believe the designer has been working on for some time) has taken so long to get real traction. In essence, the submarine is an underwater "airplane" that uses the principle of "lift" to go down (so if its engine fails it "falls" to the surface). This means no ballast tanks and a very simple, robust design (mechanical stuff outside the bubble; life support and people inside). Oddly enough the only reason I know anything about this subject is that back in 1997 I was working as a game designer working on a "Tomb Raider"-like game but with the emphasis on the underwater gameplay (I thought Tomb Raider's underwater stuff was a huge missed opportunity, since I found the few underwater bits the most scary and tense). Researching the back story I looked into what was happening in submarine design (a field that doesn't get a huge amount of coverage, even among geeks) and found out about these underwater "planes" and some stuff the US Navy was experimenting with (i.e. a modified Los Angeles class submarine that could launch armed drone subs, which is a brilliant idea since the most dangerous thing an attack sub can do in combat is launch a torpedo). Again -- funny how slow progress seems to be in subs compared to everything else.

eugenejen 16y ago
IMHO the cause for slow progress is due to most submarine research are restricted and classified as top secret. At the other hand, I wonder why submarine exploration of oceans on earth is not regarded as highly as space exploration. Also while there are so many private start-ups focus on commercial space business, what about deep ocean? I know James Cameron's participation. But anybody else?
- JoeAltmaier 16y ago
  Technology: Submarines have to withstand hundreds of atmospheres of pressure. Spacecraft? 1.
  - burgerbrain 16y ago
    Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Good Lord! That's over 5000 atmospheres of pressure! Fry: How many atmospheres can the ship withstand? Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Well, it was built for space travel, so anywhere between zero and one.

karanr 16y ago

I <3 Branson!

storborg 16y ago

The first and only two humans to visit the Challenger Deep did so in 1960, and in recent years not a single submersible has existed that's rated for that depth. We, as a species, have not gone back since. In contrast, twelve humans have walked on the surface of the moon. Now we're finally going back! This is so cool!

leif 16y ago

Still waiting for Virgin Historic.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
mkramlich 16y ago
That would require him to fund the development of a time machine. Or perhaps it has already happened.

riffraff 16y ago

before reading I thought this was some new virgin-branded enterprise. As in, I already had the wallet in my hands to book a trip.

ChuckMcM 16y ago

Surprised nobody has yet to mention US Submarines[1] their Phoenix 1000 design [2] would be (if anyone ever bought one) the largest personally owned undersea craft, and a helluva an RV. There was a BBC documentary on a guy who built a nominal atmosphere submarine that could go down 1000' (300 meters). [1] http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/luxury.php3 http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/luxury.php3 [2] http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/phoenix_1000.php3 http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/phoenix_1000.php3

ck2 16y ago

"The Virgin Oceanic sub has the ability to 'fly' underwater for 10 km at depth on each of the five dives and to fully explore this unknown environment." Sounds like something out of Seaquest (anyone remember that show, lol) http://google.com/images?q=seaquest+stinger http://google.com/images?q=seaquest+stinger

fryguy 16y ago

I've always wondered why they continue building submarines instead of ROVs. I'm a little bit biased as I work for an ROV company, but it seems silly that you'd go down so deep (somewhat "dangerously" as well) for the experience of breathing bad air in a cramped smelly place to look out of a tiny window (since glass/plastic has to be ridiculously thick to have 1 atmosphere at those extreme depths) or video cameras, when you could do the same thing from the surface on a boat. Perhaps this technology is significantly better than the manned vessels they used during the Titanic recovery (where these stories of the manned exploration that deep come from), but it doesn't make sense to me. I suppose there's the whole "I got to experience it" thing, like people that want to go to space have, but it's not quite the same thing.

bradleyjoyce 16y ago
the human desire to explore and "be there" is very powerful and in most cases of pushing the envelop of exploration, wins out over logic.

epynonymous 16y ago

not a huge fan of richard branson, but i think what he's doing is pretty cool even though this won't be affordable anytime soon for the layman. think about it, the earth is 75% water and most of that has been unexplored (except for deep sea drilling), and here we are exploring space when so much under our nose is unexplored.