The Max Rover submersible is tested at the Trident pier, Port Canaveral

[KSC-97PC-1298]

  • Photo Number: KSC-97PC-1298

  • Release Date: 27-Aug-1997

    • Description: As scuba divers stand by, a Diver Operated Plug (DOP) is lowered into the water at the Trident Pier at Port Canaveral during a test of the unmanned robotic submersible recovery system, known as Max Rover. Kennedy Space Center's solid rocket booster (SRB) retrieval team and Advanced Systems Development laboratory staff hope that the new robotic technology will make the process of inserting the plug into spent SRBs safer and less strenuous. Currently, scuba divers manually insert the DOP into the aft nozzle of a jettisoned SRB 60 to 70 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. After the plug is installed, water is pumped out of the booster allowing it to float horizontally. It is then towed back to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Station for refurbishment. Deep Sea Systems of Falmouth, Mass., built the submersible for NASA.

    Resolution Format Width
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    Thumbnail GIF 100 67 10231
    Slide GIF 172 148 36670
    Low GIF 320 213 97160
    Medium JPEG 1024 683 163134
    High JPEG 2280 1521 870027

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    Name: NASA Kennedy Space Center

    Address:

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John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

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    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: Bionetics and NASA/KSC Public Affairs Office
    Captions: Sherikon Space Systems
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    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 14:59:31 EDT 2001 (Kay Grinter)

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