We visited the SEA lab and got a load of great information and pictures to share . The original lab was 2 mine sweepers scrapped then welded together making an approximate 40 foot pill shaped container accomodating 4 men at a depth of about 200 ft.
The budget over all was about 2 hundred thousand dollars . The appliances were bought from Sears , being the cheapest they could find . Items like heaters , toasters , lighting and even sinks . Using a garden hose for fresh water supply they cut corners in every way .
Spending days even weeks down under opened a new world up to mankind . They began to ponder maintaining prolonged life under the waves . Living , farming and building neighborhoods even . Then the pioneer George Bond asked questions like “ could we maintain under fathoms , freely swimming from the lab and back into it without going through decompression ? “ The answer was yes . Eventually, we we’re saturation diving up to 600 feel. Before this was known divers had to endure up to 50 hours of decompressing to avoid the bends .
George Bond had made milestone advances in underwater research and changed our world . Saturation dives had become possible but how deep could man go and what could we do ?
Up to now heavyweight suits were worn for deep water repairs . Hard to maneuver , not very comfortable and attached by air lines to the ship above . Only to depths the air line could extend . Now swimming freely using body tanks , able to see better as well the divers return to the lab already under pressure to recover from tiring work they had to do .
There were modified changes to breathing as well . Helium was exchanged for nitrogen leaving about 14% oxygen and 86% helium . This allowed the molecules to saturate into muscle under the great pressures under water . The problem was carbon dioxide in the recycled breathing mixture . They placed a filter between the scuba tanks and it worked .
The next lab would take man to 300 ft and they stayed much longer . Attaching a bell to enter and exit . Under equal pressure the entrance could remain open , keeping the water from flooding into the lab . Worked great and divers were once again pushing the limits of under water goals . The second lab was designed for exploration , comforts and safety . With a much larger budget Sears was no longer needed. Scott Carpenter joined the team . A Record stay of 30 days made Scott a super star above and below the surface . More projects accomplished , more questions to answer .
Deep Ocean drilling became possible , repairs at depths that couldn’t be reached were possible. Secret missions and military involvement was imminent . The next level would be 600 ft. for prolonged periods . Taping into soviet cable to listen in on secret messages was one job we couldn’t have done without the research of saturation diving . Sounds like a James Bond movie , ah but it was George Bond that saved the day .
There was a Sea lab 3 made for the deep water exploration and to be filled with helium instead of air . The Helium atom is much smaller than the oxygen atom and the welds weren’t secure enough to keep it from leaking . The team sent down to do repairs used the tanks with filters for the dioxide extraction but one tank was empty and a team member died . America mourned his death and the project was ended . Some still believe it was sabotage .
We have placed some pictures and QR codes for you to learn more . Hope you all enjoy this information .
