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~NOf{I~.!NG PAPER. OESTROY 

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~O APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

DECI;ASSIFIED BY: C/IART 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 25 JULY 2012 

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION 

OP'fO· MECHANIcAL ENGINEJ:.'R ING DEPARTHENT 

Hemorandum ME 44 

Distribution DA'rE: July 27, 1971 

L .B. Molaskey vi' 

SUBJECT: Recovery of RV - #3 

A meeting was held, this date at HQS, to formulate plans for the 

recovery of RV #3 of SVI from the bottom of the ocean off Hawaii. 

Attendees 

Cdr. E.E. Henifin U.S. Navy 

L/C J.P. Hillock, Jr. SPO 

Maj. R.A. Schow, Jr. SPO 

Mr. R.A. Koch EK 

Mr. D.H. Schoessler EK 

Mr. L.B. Molaskcy SSC 

The agenda covered is as follows: 

AGENDA 

1. Re-entry footprint 

HQS 

HQS 

HQS 

HQS (Security) 

2. Impact loads and damage assessment 

3. Recovery configuration and constraints 

4. Equipment requi.rements 

5. Despooling and processing 

6. Payload handling 

7. Transportation/logistics 

8. Organization 

9. Security 

10. Schedule 

11. Cost and funding 
Memorandum ME 44 (Continued) -2-

'RO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 25 .JULY 2012 

July 27, 1971 

After the proper t~ introduction the meeting convened with an informal 

discussion of the problem at hand. 

Mr. R. Koch (EK) indicated'that EK had performed a submersion test of 

1414 film. He indicated that after immersion in "simulated Pacific sea water" 

for five days that a sample 10,000 foot roll tended to be self sealing. He 

sketched the sample roll as follows: 

~. Swollen Film Edge - Self Sealing 

Inch Water P~rietration 

He said that in his opinion much of the information contained on the 

film could be recovered if it was maintained wet and dark until processed. 

Following the above agenda the meeting discussion addressed who will 

be responsible for the various items and how and on what schedule they should 

be accomplished. 

Item #1 - Re-entry Footprint 

spo will be responsible for identifying, as accurately as possible, 

the impact point. Col. Hillock'agreed to provide whatever information was 

available and to investigate, through the recovery force, what additional 

information was available: i.e., flight recorder information; impact time 

information; visual evidence, etc. It was noted ,that the RV entered the water 

at between 400 to 500 feet per second impacting with the RV spin axis perpendicular to the ~l1ater (nose on). The heat shield was in place. Speculation 

is that the ballast between the heat shield and the pressure canister (24# of 

lead) tore out through the heat shield om impact ... Previous rumor that the 

RV surfaced and was sighted after impact was indicated to be erroneous. There 

is, hml1ever, indication that there was evidence of dye from the "dye marker" as 

we1l as bubbles evident on the surface in the area of suspected impact. These 

observations "rill be checked out by SPO with the recovery team. Cdr. Henifin 

(U.S. Navy) agreed to provide information as to the sea currents and the nature 

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Memorandum ME 44 (Continued) -3-

(NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE . 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 25 .JULY 2012 

July 27, 1971 

of the bottom in a 10 mile square area at the impact point. He agreed to 

provide data as to the drift of the RV in sinking to the bottom. He needs, 

however, estimated sink rates. 

Item =11:2 - Impact J.oads and Damage Assessment 

. to the 

TU!RV on impact. via telecon on 

7-22-71 were that the bucket saw 20-2SG shock when deployed 

which caused the chute attachments to fail and that the Rventered the water, 

as indicated earlier, at 400 to 500 feet per second. Estimates of 3000 GIS 

on impact were mentioned). 

From the estimates of damage, failure modes, etc. SSC and MWC are 

asked to predict the d~ent rate through the ocean. Of special interest is 

the velocity expected ~t the bottom which is estimated to be 14,400 feet. The 

above data will be used by the Navy to estimate the drift during decent and 

the.! effects of impact on the bottom. (Is it likely to be imbeded in the mud?) 

Item #3 - Recovery Configuration and Constraints 

Extended discussion concerning the configuration and capability of 

the search and recovery requipment revealed: 

"~ The RV package will be searched for and hopefully located by a 

commercial contractor search vessel commanded by Dr. F.N. Spiess. The technique will be for the search vessel to tOt;' a sensor "fish" on a 30,000 ft. 

cable. The sensor employs high resolution side looking sonar having a range 

of 1000 feet transverse to the towing direction. The RV package will be located 

and its location marked by some sort of transducer anchored to the ocean bottom 

adjacent to the package. The recovery vehicle "The Trieste II" will be positioned at the surface above the transducer and will decend, homing in on the 

transducer, to the bottom. The Trieste has a lift capability of over. 2000 

pounds. It is rigged with a wench and hook arrangement which is used to lift 

the payload. A mechanical manipulator with six degrees of freedom having a 

grip strength of 3000 pounds will be used to attach the payload to the hook 

or suitable lifting apparatus. 

Various photographic and television instrumentation will record the 

underwater operation. There is also a view port in the 7 ft. diameter spherical 

operating chamber for the three man crew to observe and control the operation. 

Item #4 - Equipment Requirements 

When the unit is located 

somehow attach a hook to the RV. 

configuraJ;ign of the 

I

; .. g ,. "" "q •.. "t t;.·~ J .·u ..... .l 

the Trieste the plan 

o nvestigate the 

a means to attac 

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OR CONTROl. BY __ •. _' i .... : _ 

(NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 25 ~ULY 2012 

Memorandum ME 44 (Continued) -4- July 27, 1971 

This operation is performed by use of the manipulator to roll the unit out of 

the mud and attach the hook. The Trieste then s tarts up tl1hile playing out the 

cable until it is about 120 feet off the bottom. Then both proceed t'o the 

surface with the RV suspended from the 120 foot depth below the Trieste. At 

this point divers \Jill be sent down with a cargo net which is lined with black 

canvasj. '.fhe illumination level § at ~his depth must be_investigated ~o preclude exposure of the material (SSe is responsible). 

The unit will be wrapped with the canvas/'and secured light tight 

by the divers. A separate wench cable from the support ship will he attached, 

the Trieste's cable 'detached and the package hoisted to the support ship. 

A suitable container immersed or full of sea water will receive the 

entire package, net and all. The container will be sealed and filled with sea 

water and transported to Hawaii for transfer to an aircraft for the flight to 

Rochester. 

sse has been asked to investi.gate the availability of suitable containers (in parallel with SPO and MWC) • .. Item #5 

At Rochester the unit will be opened in the dark, the structure removed' by whatever means necessary while maintaining the unit wet. A hole will 

be bored through the shaft center parallel to the rotation axis and a rod in- . 

serted to provide an axle about which to rotate the spools. The film will be 

removed by hand and transferred directly to processing in 2,000 to 3,000 foot 

lengths. One side will be handled at a time. 

in the 

me 

axle. 

Item # 6 - Payload Handling 

Most of the handling of the recovery package was discussed above. 

Considerable discussion about protecting the unit from exposure to light and 

from drying out t'las held. There are still questionable areas concerning -

a. The use of bright light to find the package on the ocean bottom. 

b. The use of light to take pictures of the recovery operation and 

and hardware configuration. 

c. The illumination level at the 120 foot transfer depth. 

No other payload handling problems are anticipated. 

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( VVO;tr.lr;(i j)1~rm, DESTROY 

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Memorandum }ffi 44 (Continued) -5- July 27, 1971 

Item 7 - Transportation and Logistics 

All transportation and logistics will be handled by SPO working with 

the Navy and HQS. 

Item i8 - Organization 

There was no "official" organization published or directed at this 

time. However, as noted under the other items above, responsibilities were 

defined. The Navy will be responsible for the actual recovery operation. It 

was indicated that it would be helpful to have a responsible individual from 

each i.nvolved organization identified. The contractors were asked to work 

through their respective customers in all data transmittal. The responsible 

individuals are: . 

Item ~~ - Security 

HQS D. Patter 

SPO Llc J.P. Hillock, Jr. 

EK 

MWC 

SSC 

Navy Cdr. E.E. Henifin 

In general the security plan for this operation will be to brief as 

few new people as possible and only to level necessary for them to perform 

their function. 

Several areas \l7here full briefing will be required are: 

a. The Trieste operators (3). 

b. The divers who enclose the payload in the net (4). 

c. One photo processor who develops the hardware photos from 

the "fish". 

d. The corranander of the search vehicle (Dr. F.N. Spiess). 

e. Several Navy personnel. 

Item #10 - Schedule 

This meeting affectively started the operation rolling. It is estimated that the modifications to t:i(! sc..trch vehicle will start hy August 16th 

with the search to start five days later. It is estimated that the recovery 
( I1x SECRET 

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OR COIH;(OI.. BY _ " " ,. I 

Memorandum }ffi 44 (Continued) -6-

~RO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

QECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 25 JULY 2012 

July 27, 1971 

will take 10 days on station. Two days will be required to return to port and 

transfer to the aircraft. Despooling is estimated to start in mid September. 

Item #11 - Cost and Funding 

It is estimated that the subcontract for the search operation (a 

. civilian contractor) will be between 75 to lOOK. 

Each of the contractors will submit proposals, prepared in parallel 

with the effort, defining the cost, schedule, and tasks involved. The proposals 

will be submitted to the respective customers. 

LBM/cj 

cc: M.F. "Maguire 

H. Robertson 

R. Jones 

C. Karatzas 

P. Petty 

R. Roylance 

J. Braddon 

R. McLaughlin